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It’s hard to believe it’s been almost three years since LaVar Ball burst onto the scene and turned the basketball world on its head when he announced his master plan to get his three sons to eventually play together on the Lakers, and since then, the family has been on one hell of a ride.
While Lonzo eventually ended up in Los Angeles after being drafted in 2017, LiAngelo found himself exiled to Lithuania with LaMelo after getting kicked out of UCLA for deciding it would be a good idea to shoplift in China before the duo were relegated to playing in the ill-fated Junior Basketball Association.
It doesn’t look like LiAngelo will be making his way to the NBA any time soon but the same can’t be said for his younger brother, as LaMelo has been on one hell of a tear since taking his talents to Australia to play for the Illawarra Hawks.
A couple of months ago, we learned LaMelo had caught the eye of a number of NBA executives who said they believed he had the talent to be selected with the top spot in the 2020 draft and he’s only helped his cause since then thanks to his consistently solid performance on the court.
It’s safe to say the hype train has officially left the station, and now, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has added some coal to the furnace, as he claims LaMelo would edge out fellow prospects James Wiseman and Anthony Edwards and be picked number one if the draft was held today.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the NBA sources Givony has spoken to have one major concern: LaVar, who hasn’t exactly made many friends in the league thanks to his penchant for being the most insufferable Basketball Dad in the history of Basketball Dads (which is saying something).
As a result, it seems like the best thing LaVar could do right now if he really cares about his son’s future is to shut his mouth for once. However, asking him to do that is kind of like asking a shark to stop swimming so here’s to hoping LaMelo can be the first player to meet Adam Silver on stage this summer in spite of his dad.