Lavar Ball recently spoke about the opportunity his son LiAngelo Ball received to play in the NBA G-League with the Oklahoma City Blue. In an interview with Forbes, the outspoken Ball patriarch downplayed the signing, saying that Gelo would have been a lottery pick had his infamous incident in China not happened.
“It wasn’t a big deal because here’s the thing; all my boys are going to go pro. So Gelo went a different direction, that means he has to take a different route. But they all cut from the same cloth. If Gelo didn’t do what he did, he would have been a lottery pick too. It’s not like I’m going to have two boys living in my house saying, ‘Oh nah I’m not going to work out like that.'”
To recall, LiAngelo Ball, along with some of his UCLA teammates at the time, shoplifted from a store in China. The middle Ball brother then went undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft. He went on to play for the Junior Basketball Association, a league his father founded, 2018.
The Oklahoma City Thunder G-League finally gave LiAngelo the opportunity to get his NBA career on the map. Unfortunately, he won't even get the chance to suit up for the foreseeable future, at least. Both the NBA G-League suspended their respective seasons earlier this week due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The eldest Ball brother, Lonzo Ball, is having a career-year with the New Orleans Pelicans before the season's untimely suspension. Likewise, LaMelo Ball, the youngest, is projected to be a top draft pick in the upcoming 2020 draft.
That leaves Gelo as without a clear path to the NBA. Lavar certainly wishes the G-League will finally serve as his stepping stone to the big league eventually.