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NBA: How Good Is LaMelo Ball?

Chas Post

You're probably familiar with LaMelo Ball. He is the brother of Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball and the son of the founder of Big Baller Brand, LaVar Ball, who has certainly made a name for himself over the last couple of years. LaMelo is the youngest of three sons, as his two older brothers are playing professionally. And LaMelo looked like he'd follow in Lonzo's foot steps by running through fellow high schoolers at Chino Hills, before taking his talents to UCLA for a year, and then ascending to the NBA Draft. But all of a sudden, LaVar pulled LaMelo from high school last year and sent him and the middle brother (LiAngelo) to Lithuania to play professionally. The two brothers signed with Vytautas Prienai Birštonas.


LaMelo played fine in his debut, as he came off the bench to score 10 points and nine assists, in a 90-80 win. But after that game, it was clear that the 16-year-old was overmatched for the most part. Depending on the quality of the opponents, LaMelo wasn't ready to play against men in their 20s and 30s. Which is certainly understandable, but might not have been the best thing for his development. After signing in Lithuania, it ended any chance of LaMelo playing college ball in the United States, which meant he was looking for another team to join for this summer. LaVar previously had the idea of beginning his own league with other high schoolers that wanted to get paid instantly, instead of going the college route.


Well, that league, dubbed Junior Basketball Association, has recently started. LaMelo is the starting point guard on Los Angeles and has looked extremely good in his first two games. But just how good is he? There is almost no defense played in this league and while it's pretty entertaining at times, I don't think it's good for LaMelo's maturation as a basketball player. He is clearly a talented player who has potential to play in the NBA someday, but he's not going to face the level of competition that he needs to further improve. And that's no shot at the other players in the JBA because guys like Niles Malone have a lot of skill. But they aren't D1 or NBA level guys, and that's who LaMelo needs to be going against if he wants to get better.


In the mean time, though, we're just going to continue to see him put up big numbers against inferior players. LaMelo dropped 40 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in his first JBA game against New York in a 134-124 win. He followed that up with 39 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists as Los Angeles defeated Seattle by five points. LaMelo is obviously a skilled player, and he has been for years, but in order to improve his deficiencies before he looks to reach the NBA, he's going to have to face better competition. And I hope he does, because he truly has the possibility of being better than Lonzo, who averaged an impressive 10.2 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.9 rebounds in his rookie year with the Los Angeles Lakers.


Photo Credit: LA Times.

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