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During a visit to China in November, alleged prodigal son LiAngelo Ball decided it would be a good idea to steal a pair of sunglasses from a Gucci store in a country where a shoplifting conviction can net you up to ten years in prison. After Ball was suspended indefinitely by UCLA, his father announced he would be withdrawing both LiAngelo and LaMelo (who was a junior at Chino Hills High) from their respective schools.
Virtually any other players in their position would follow in the footsteps of Stephon Marbury and Jimmer Fredette by taking their talents to China, but LiAngelo kind of shot himself in the foot on that one. Earlier this month, the brothers shocked basically everyone when they announced they had decided to join the Prienai-Birstonas Vytautas club in Lithuania— a move that was met with warnings from former players, some trolling on Twitter, and mixed reactions from locals.
No one was really sure why the Balls decided to play in the middle of nowhere, but we now have a bit more insight thanks to a piece published by The New York Times detailing how a single tweet from a 21-year-old Lithuanian led to the Ball brothers deciding to trek 6,000 miles across the globe to play in a city with a population of fewer than 10,000 people.
It all started with a late-night tweet that was sent to Ball brothers agent Harrison Gaines by a basketball writer named Erikas Kirvelaitis. To his surprise, Gaines actually responded by saying he was interested in hearing more, and after a week of back and forth, the Balls declared they were going to play for a crazy coach in a gym that holds 1,500 spectators.
The next chapter in the seemingly endless saga of the Ball family will begin when the two travel to Lithuania in January.