LaMelo Ball is a 16-year-old professional basketball player who most recently played for Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas in the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He is the youngest son of media personality and founder and CEO of Big Baller Brand (BBB), LaVar Ball. He has two older brothers, LiAngelo, 19, and Lonzo, 20, who’s a point guard for the LA Lakers. Both LaMelo and brother LiAngelo were recently pulled out of the Lithuanian League by their father, LaVar, with just two games left in the 2018 season. The two brothers reportedly left the league because of injuries and issues their father had with the LKL coach.
LaMelo Ball Net Worth As Of 2019: $700K
LaMelo has his dad’s BBB to thank for the majority of his worth. In 2017, BBB released LaMelo’s signature shoe called the Melo Ball 1 that currently sells for a cool $395. He has also starred in the reality series, Ball in the Family, which premiered exclusively on Facebook in September 2017.
Early Life
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfFJOIMnqe3/?hl=en&taken-by=melo
LaMelo was born on August 22, 2001, in Chino Hills, California to Lavar and Tina Ball. Both Lavar and Tina were former college basketball players, having met at Cal State LA. After college, LaVar played football overseas as a tight end for the London Monarchs in the World League of American Football.
2014
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfNSKvDHXCg/?hl=en&taken-by=melo
Growing up with two older brothers, LaMelo mainly played against opponents several years older than him. When he was 13, he scored 29 points in a high school summer league game, facing kids who were 16 and 17. USA Today High School Sports compared Ball’s ability to “dominate” older competition as reminiscent of LeBron James. Ball verbally committed to play college basketball for UCLA before he started high school, at the age of 13. He was the third and final Ball brother to commit to UCLA.
2015-2017
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be7FibgnyFS/?hl=en&taken-by=melo
Not a lot of kids start high school knowing where they’re going to college, much less already committed to playing a sport at a top D1 school. Freshman year must have been tough on him. The team closed the season with a perfect 35–0 record. Ball, who averaged 16.4 points and 3.8 assists, made the MaxPreps Boys’ Basketball Freshman All-American First Team. In his sophomore year, Ball lost his first game late in the season, ending Chino Hills 60-game win streak. The following game LaMelo caught national attention when he scored 92 points in a game, the second most in California HS basketball history.
2017-Present
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfuVeiZHzaM/?hl=en&taken-by=melo
In December 2017, both LaMelo and LiAngelo signed on to play professionally overseas in the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). The decision meant that LaMelo would not be able to play in the NCAA. In April 2018, LaVar pulled both of his sons out of the LKL, citing injuries and disagreements with the coach as the reason for the exit. LaMelo is one of the most polarizing high school celebrity athletes. In reference to the public’s love/hate attitude towards the young star, Rivals.com said, “The LaMelo Ball phenomenon is the closest thing to Justin Bieber on a basketball court.” There’s no denying his high profile status though. As of April 2018, LaMelo has 3.7 million followers on Instagram. He and the entire Ball family have a penchant for the spotlight. If LaVar keeps his media persona and the Ball brothers reach a fraction of their supposed potential, the skies the limit for this Kardashian-like basketball clan.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ4f-U5DuaM/?hl=en&taken-by=melo
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfZD416nSmD/?hl=en&taken-by=melo
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRIJQ2qDvIT/?hl=en&taken-by=melo
2019
The selections for the 42nd annual McDonald’s All-American game were announced and LaMelo Ball was not included.
