LaMelo Ball drops NSFW revelation on awful Lithuania experience
12/29/2024 03:36 PM
Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball didn’t exactly have a smooth path to the NBA. While Ball was always considered to be a very good NBA prospect back during his early high school days at Chino Hills, his pathway to the league was anything but ordinary and included a stint in Lithuania.
During a recent interview with SLAM magazine, LaMelo Ball detailed his experience playing professional basketball in Lithuania and why he considered it to be an awful experience.
“Honestly, after Lithuania, I didn’t really give a f**k where I got drafted to. The beds? You roll off to the left, you fall off. You roll off to the right, you fall off. Motherf**king calves hanging off the bed – not feet, calves hanging off the bed!” Ball said. “That s**t was crazy. Food was hard to eat out there. Hella cold. Nobody around. That’s pretty much when I just locked in. . .just get it done and grind. That right there was big I feel like. Sacrifice – you feel me? That’s what I looked at it as.”
Ball now credits his time in Lithuania for helping get him mentally strong.
“The mental shit goes back to Lithuania. Ever since all that, I ain’t gone lie, my mental has been straight,” Ball said. “It ain’t nothing you can do. I even sat the bench there. I literally did everything out there.”
LaMelo Ball’s path to the NBA, Hornets
Before the Hornets selected LaMelo with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, he already had quite a bit of professional basketball experience. LaMelo was originally committed to play college basketball at UCLA just like his older brothers Lonzo and LiAngelo.
Lonzo ended up playing one season for UCLA before declaring for the NBA Draft and ultimately being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with No. 2 overall pick in 2017. LiAngelo only played in one game during his freshman season at UCLA before withdrawing from the university following an overseas incident in China during the Bruins’ scheduled season opener against Georgia Tech.
When LiAngelo withdrew from UCLA, he went overseas to play professionally in Lithuania, and LaMelo accompanied him, leaving high school before his junior year. He also played professionally in Australia as part of the NBL’s (National Basketball League) Next Stars program.
This season, LaMelo has appeared in 22 games for the Hornets at a little over 33 minutes per game. He’s been averaging a career-high 30.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.3 steals with splits of 42.5 percent shooting from the field, 34.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 84.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
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