LaMelo Ball will continue his basketball career with the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL in Australia.
The youngest Ball brother announced the news on ESPN on Monday. This will be a return to a high level of basketball after a short stint in Lithuania, and it means college is officially off of the table.
Breaking: LaMelo Ball announces on The Jump that he will play professional basketball in Australia’s NBL for the Illawarra Hawks. pic.twitter.com/5eN4AH9BTA
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 17, 2019
This is a smart decision from Ball. If he’s truly gunning for the top spot in the 2020 draft, then he needs to play against the best possible competition.
He’ll get to play against tough competition in Australia. It’s one of the better leagues out there, and he’s also following fellow American high schooler R.J. Hampton, who announced he’d join the league back in May. (RELATED: LaVar Ball Says LaMelo Will Sign In China Or Australia)
Overall, this was without a doubt one of the best options on the table for the youngest Ball brother.
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If he tears up Australia, then his draft stock will go through the roof in 2020, and it’s already high.
Very few elite high school players could ever even come close to holding their own in overseas leagues. Something tells me that, due to LaMelo’s huge size and playmaking ability, he could be one of the few who actually gets the job done.
It’s going to be a ton of fun watching what he does in the NBL. If he leaves a mark, there’s a very real chance he could be the first pick in 2020. What a wild life for LaVar Ball and his family.