Potential NBA top pick LaMelo Ball believes he is destined to be the first name off the boards once the 2020 NBA Draft takes place on Wednesday, November 18. Never short on confidence, the brash 19-year-old entertained questions from the media a day before the draft and shrugged off notions of the immense pressure that comes from being a lottery pick.

“I feel like I’m born for this…” Melo said (via Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). “I don’t look at anything like that as pressure. Like I said, it’s just basketball. So, being the No. 1 pick holds a lot, but I’m glad I was born for it.”

The Minnesota Timberwolves hold first dibs on this year's rather thin draft pool. While there are still questions about how Ball's game transcends to the pros, most draft experts still peg him as the most talented and promising player from the class.

Apart from the Wolves, Ball has also worked out with the Golden State Warriors who will be picking second, and the Charlotte Hornets who own the third pick. Unlike in previous drafts, there's still no consensus top pick from this year's crop. Ball is expected to no past the Top 3, alongside fellow blue-chip recruits James Wiseman and Anthony Edwards.

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The 6-foot-7 playmaker carved out a different path on his way to the league, opting to forego college and play overseas for the Illawarra Hawks in the National Basketball League. He tallied 17.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.7 steals against older professional players in Australia. Ball sees that experience as an advantage over the rest of his peers.

“I feel like when you go overseas, it’s a whole new different style of play. Something that you can just add to the arsenal. I feel like it helped me in that aspect,” he added.

If LaMelo Ball does end up going first overall, this would make him the most successful one out of the infamous Ball brood so far. His eldest brother Lonzo was picked second overall by the Los Anges Lakers in 2017, while LiAngelo made it to the G-League team Oklahoma City Blue as a practice player.