LaMelo Ball is one of the brightest young stars in the league, as the sophomore became an NBA All-Star this season. There was one man signing LaMelo’s praises since even before he was a high schooler and that was his father LaVar Ball.
The Ball Family and LaVar’s commitment to his children and making them NBA players is very well-known. LaVar already has two sons in the NBA in LaMelo and Lonzo Ball, with his third son LiAngelo in the NBA G League.
LaVar has maintained his entire life that his sons can do anything, but have chosen to excel in basketball. LaMelo took that extremely seriously and the pair were in a hilarious commercial for telecom provider AT&T, where LaMelo sets his prize on the ultimate trophy. Not the Rookie of the Year trophy he won last season, but becoming ‘Employee of the Week’ at AT&T.
LaMelo may make way to his first-ever playoffs this season, with the Charlotte Hornets currently in the play-in. While the challenges for the young team to overcome will be a little past their experience, the Hornets are a perfect dark-horse team people can root for.
If the playoff started today, they would first have to beat the Atlanta Hawks in the 9-10 matchup and then face the loser of the Brooklyn Nets vs Cleveland Cavaliers 7-8 matchup. Two very tough wins later, the Hornets could be in the playoffs as the eighth seed and have to face the Miami Heat. It doesn’t look like the Heat will stay the #1 seed, as anything can change in the East, which may impact Charlotte as well.
LaMelo has led his team this far, but can he actually lead them to the playoffs and show the substance underneath the flash? Time will tell.
