LiAngelo Ball Declares for NBA Draft

It should come as no surprise that LiAngelo Ball (196 cm, UCLA’18) has officially declared for the 2018 NBA Draft. That’s been his dad’s (LaVar Ball) masterplan from the beginning. He was pulled out of UCLA then went pro in Europe with his brother LaMelo this 2017-18. The siblings joined Vytautas Prienu (Lithuania-LKL). He played nine games for them in the Lithuanian League this season and recorded averages 15.7 ppg and 2.9 rpg. Ball scored 72 points in a friendly game against the Guangdong Southern Tigers (China-CBA), but most observers will be taking his performances with a grain of salt. Ball will be under a microscope coming into the draft, with some pundits believing that a one-and-done stint with UCLA would have prepared him better for the NBA. In the end, the proof will be in the pudding. He will likely be a first-round pick, but with a stacked draft class, it’s possible that LiAngelo will not be a top-5 or even a top-10 pick.