don’t do that. [He has a] very high IQ.
You tell him things one time.”
There’s a reason LaMelo has
developed an obsession with getting to
the League: it’s his chance to finally
reunite on the court with his brothers,
something he hasn’t done since going
35-0 as a 5-10 freshman floor general at
Chino Hills. (Oldest bro Lonzo runs PG
for the Lakers, and his middle brother
LiAngelo will be looking for a shot at the
NBA Summer League over the coming
months.)
The numbers when the trio is united
speak for themselves, but it’s the
intangible fluidity and chemistry
between the brothers that LaMelo
craves having again.
“We’ve been playing our whole lifetogether,” he says. “It’s all clicked. For
instance, Zo can get a rebound and
throw it backward and just know Gelo is
down there. It’s different.”
He’s OK with NBA front offices
knowing his top priority: “I like L.A., the
Clippers and the Lakers, but definitely
playing with my brothers.”
LaVar says any team that acquires all
three Ball brothers—at this point, LaVar
doesn’t care if it’s the Lakers or not—
would have three players that would
never clash or ego-trip over one
another’s success.
“My boys will go 15, 20 years without
breaking up. You don’t get that anymore,”
he says. “They’re not playing for the bag.
It’s not, If you don’t give me $50 million,
I’m gone.”C
HASING THAT gargantuan
max contract isn’t a goal
for LaMelo, but that’s not
to say achieving unprecedented
wealth for an NBA player isn’t.
“My boys are gonna be the first ones
to be billionaires playing on the court. I
got other stuff in line to get that,” LaVar
says. “Whatever my boys are playing for
on the court, that’ll be chump change.
You don’t have guys doing that. One guy
gets a championship and next thing you
know he wants his own team, bigger
contracts.”
LaMelo admits that he hates playing
against Lonzo and LiAngelo; however,
LaVar thinks it’s what made his youngest
son the most fearless Ball brother.
“‘I got Gelo and Zo in front of me.
I’m not scared of none of you weak
suckers,’” LaVar says, imitating Melo’s
mindset. “‘I played against two of the
coldest dudes every day.’”
What’s in it for a team considering
LaMelo in the 2020 NBA Draft, especial-
ly one stuck in the lottery?
A player with a killer instinct on both
ends of the floor.
“If a guy gets in his face and the score
may be tied, the next thing you know
we’re up 22. He’ll barely be sweating,”
Jackson says. “When he gets to the
point that he’s pissed off, that’s 55, 60
points at a high percentage.”
It’s true. In LaMelo’s record-break-
ing 92-point outing at Chino Hills, 41
of those points came in the fourth
quarter—in high school, that’s only an
8-minute period.
“If I was to score 0 points, I can prom-
ise you nobody is scoring on me, though,”
LaMelo adds.
LaMelo’s track record proves that it
doesn’t matter what country he spends
next season in. It doesn’t matter what
language the fans or opponents are
speaking or the size of the arena he’s
playing in—when the game tips off, the
outside noise and hype fades away.
LaMelo is just there to hoop.
You can hate on the kid who took
the path less traveled. You can call
his dreams unrealistic and his father
delusional.
Just remember, soon he’ll be suiting
up to play against your favorite team.
“My son has had an ‘X’ on his back
since he was a baby,” LaVar says with an
intense gaze. “See if you can beat him.” S+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
48 SLAMONLINE.COM