To say that a lot of people were skeptical about LaMelo Ball and his ability to dominate in the NBA would be a bit of an understatement. After watching him bounce around the world – literally – and how his father LaVar talked about him the same way he talked about his brother Lonzo, raised a lot of questions about whether he was going to be good.
Some scouts claimed that LaMelo’s shot selection, broken jump shot, lack of muscle, and poor defensive instincts would make him a bust. Others saw him play against grown men for the past 3 years and trusted him to be a future franchise player.
Well, it seems like the ladder were right, as he’s currently leading the race to win the Rookie of the Year award, averaging 20.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.3 assists as a starter and looking like a veteran already.
Ball has turned a lot of heads as of late. In fact, Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry had a lot of praise for his game and the way he’s proving the doubters wrong:
“He’s playing amazing. There was a lot of talk about what he could show his rookie year. He’s surprising a lot of people,” Curry told reporters, as quoted by Talk Basket.net.
Like Ball, Curry was also highly doubted when he entered the league. LaMelo is proving to be way more mature than most people think, just playing without talking and demonstrating that he’s star material.
LaMelo keeps improving right before our eyes and he’s only going to get better. He may never be an above-average defender but he’s already impressed with his decision-making and the way he’s making everybody around him better.
People may not want to give him his flowers because of his father’s never-ending antics, but it seems like the younger brother of the Ball household is poised for stardom.
