Watch: LiAngelo Ball absolutely stunk it up in pre-draft workouts
It didn’t come as a surprise to many people that LiAngelo Ball wasn’t selected Thursday night in the NBA draft, with the possible exception of his father, LaVar.
In March, when the second-oldest Ball brother declared for the NBA draft, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman was quoted as saying, “Not one scout Bleacher Report has reached out to thinks Ball has a chance to play in the NBA anytime soon.”
While he did get invited to two pre-draft workouts — the Warriors and Lakers each gave Ball a look — LiAngelo failed to impress.
For a glimpse of what the scouts saw at one of the workouts, some video emerged of Ball taking some jump shots.
He did not exactly shoot the lights out.
Supposedly the best three-point shooter of the Ball brothers, LiAngelo made a little more than half of his perimeter shots in this first session, but then missed 12 of his last 16 uncontested shots from around the perimeter in the next session, and bricked his last shot off the side of the backboard.
Keep in mind, this is just one short clip of his workout. But considering the fact that he went undrafted and that the Lakers aren’t inviting him to compete on their summer league team, it’s safe to assume the rest of the workout didn’t go much better.
Lakers officially informed LiAngelo Ball he will not be on their Summer League team last night. They were determined to make this a basketball decision but as one source put it, “obviously there’s more to it than basketball.” In other words— the LaVar effect was real.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 22, 2018
Of course, with LiAngelo or any of the Ball siblings, it comes down to more than just basketball. Teams interested in LiAngelo also have to take on his father, and apparently, they’ve heard more than enough from the outspoken Ball family patriarch during Lonzo Ball’s rookie season with the team..
“The Lakers officially informed LiAngelo Ball he will not be on their Summer League team last night. They were determined to make this a basketball decision but as one source put it, ‘obviously there’s more to it than basketball.’ In other words — the LaVar effect was real,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported.
#Lavar Ball: What's next for #Liangelo since he wasn't drafted tonight? pic.twitter.com/jIN5X5OqM1
— Fred Roggin (@FredRoggin) June 22, 2018
While LiAngelo Ball won’t be playing in the NBA summer league for the Lakers, LaVar Ball is hopeful the 19-year-old will be playing for some team in the summer league.
“What’s next for him is to play in the Summer League,” LaVar Ball said Thursday at the opening night of his Junior Basketball Association, reported MSN Sports. “Whether you drafted or not, you got to produce in the Summer League.”
So far LiAngelo Ball has had no takers. The summer leagues run from July 2-17.
Meanwhile, the JBA is underway. A very empty stadium for the first game of the night. 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/V03PtVS3Nf
— . (@WBallCentral) June 22, 2018
If that fails, Ball will have to try and impress NBA scouts by playing in his dad’s JBA, which played before some pretty sparse crowds on opening night last Thursday.
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