LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 24: LiAngelo Ball #3 of Chino Hills High School shoots the ball during the game against Mater Dei High School at the Galen Center on February 24, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
LiAngelo Ball has decided to enter the 2018 NBA draft.
The 19-year-old former UCLA star has been playing for Lithuanian team Vytautas Prienu. Just hours before his announcement, Ball scored 72 points in a Big Baller Brand Challenge game between Vytautas and the Guangdon Southern Tigers of the Chinese basketball league.
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Ball’s younger brother LaMelo added 36 points and their outspoken father LaVar Ball served as the squad’s head coach in the 159-115 win.
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LiAngleo — whose older brother Lonzo is a rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers — made headlines late last year when him and his UCLA teammates were caught shoplifting in China while the Bruins were in the country for an exhibition game. Upon his return to the United States, he was suspended indefinitely by UCLA and left the program without having played a game.
Ball averaged 15.7 points in nine games with Vytautas. Many basketball experts seem to agree it is a long-shot for LiAngelo Ball to be drafted by the NBA this year (at least as a top pick).
One person who disagrees with these experts, however, is Paul Pierce. The former Boston Celtics star told TMZ that he believes Ball has a good chance of being drafted.
“I think he got a good shot man, you know. I hope all the Ball brothers make it to the league,” Pierce told TMZ Sports of the Chino Hills, California family.
LaVar Ball has also reportedly been grooming LaMelo to join the NBA as soon as possible.
Check out Pierce’s comments below:
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