With all three Ball brothers now in the NBA, it has things very interesting for the Ball family.
Lonzo, the oldest, has become a solid, starting-caliber point guard in New Orleans. Last season, he was a key piece of their system, with averages of 14.6 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game on 41.4% shooting.
LaMelo, the youngest, was just awarded the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award after a superb season in Charlotte. Through 31 games, he averaged 15.7 points per game for the young and rising Hornets.
LiAngelo is the middle son, and while he has yet to make his way to the NBA officially, his play in Summer League has pretty much secured his ticket to the big leagues.
Right now, it’s impossible to tell who will end up with the better career once it’s all said and done. But, to LaMelo, it’s clear who the best Ball child is.
“Imma go with LaMelo Ball is better. It’s just a fact. That’s it. All right. Play style different? We got some similarities, but then we also got a lot of differences. I think the difference is, I’m better. That’s just my opinion.”
Lonzo has proved he’s NBA material, and that’s impressive enough by itself.
But LaMelo seems to be something different — cut from a different cloth. There are many flaws and holes to his game at this time, but his rookie season showed flashes of stardom that should get Hornets fans really excited.
At the very least, it was good enough to get the attention of his pers.
“The ceiling is very very high, a lot of upside, said CJ McCollum last month. “The game is like, it leaves you like ‘wow’. He’s ahead of his time from a vision standpoint. When Mike (Jordan) is saying that he’s better than we thought, you know you’re doing what you supposed to do.”
The future is obviously very bright for LaMelo and his squad. Out of the gate, he’s showing that he can be a guy that the Hornets can build around.
If Lonzo wants to steal the spotlight, he’s going to have to have a breakout season.
