The NBA off-season is drawing to a close, with the opening games of the coming season fast approaching. We’ve moved beyond the 2019 Draft and Summer League, and now have only the regular season to look forward to, which is certainly something to be excited about. The season will finally answer the questions NBA fans everywhere have been asking. Just how far will Zion go? How long until Cam Reddish inevitably emerges as a top player in the league? Was another scoring point guard exactly what the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to support Kevin Love and bring him his second ring? But beyond the regular season, and into next summer, the 2020 draft rumors have already begun to swirl about, and one name keeps popping up: LaMelo Ball.
The Ball brothers, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo, burst onto the scene a few years back due to their high-flying, long range dominance at Chino Hills High School and their big-talking dad, Lavar. Lavar built up an outrageous amount of hype around his boys, leading to interviews and a now failing shoe company. But the hype would not have lasted unless his kids were actually good, and they were.
Lonzo went on to UCLA and then the NBA, being drafted 2nd overall by the Los Angeles Lakers and recently being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. LiAngelo, potentially the best of the three, still has not quite panned out, but I’m confident it will come. And when it does, he’ll come flying into the league with his knockdown corner 3’s. But more recently, one Ball brother has been the focus of much of the hype: the youngest brother, LaMelo.
LaMelo has been followed much of his serious basketball career, from his younger years of high school up until now, as he has moved schools, gone overseas, inquired into different leagues, and now plays for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League in Australia. And this season could perhaps be the most important one thus far. LaMelo has recently been generating a lot of buzz as he will most likely enter the NBA Draft come next summer, and where he goes is truly a mystery.
His upside is enormous—a lanky 6 foot 6 inch point guard with silky smooth control of the ball, who can throw a full court pass and a 2 foot dump off with the same effortless ease. A long range shooter who can pull up or come off of screens. A lockdown defender who uses his length to guard several positions. He could be quite the exciting player.
But on the other side, his downside is equally as catastrophic as his upside is exciting. A poor decision maker who forces passes, misses ill-advised shots, and takes defensive possessions off—three things that will not fly at the highest level, the NBA. And his NBL season could be a great indicator of which of these we will see come next season. But like his brother Lonzo, we really have to wait and see how LaMelo’s skills will translate to the NBA game, something I am very excited for.