Lonzo and LaMelo Ball: No such thing as a sibling rivalry for brothers as they prepare for another face-off

Maybe LaVar Ball was right?

The histrionics, before his trio of sons even had a scent of the NBA, were entertaining at the time. It was reality TV, prior to the launch of the Facebook video series Ball In The Family in 2017.

He was all over the media for months when his eldest son Lonzo was playing at UCLA, and the boys grew up being featured in local and then national media. LaVar would claim that he could beat Michael Jordan one-on-one during appearances on ESPN, he had catchphrases that were used at inopportune moments - “stay in yo lane” - but amid the controversy, he would say something that wasn’t so outlandish.

“We got to do this three times in a row,” LaVar said to his sons on episode one of the Facebook series, just as Lonzo was preparing for the NBA Draft.

The eldest son was drafted to the family’s hometown LA Lakers, but four years on, he had a stopover with the New Orleans Pelicans, before joining the Chicago Bulls this season.

LaVar’s plan continued to come together when the youngest son, LaMelo, was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in 2020.

This year, both of their teams are battling for a top four seed in the unexpectedly competitive Eastern Conference.

So, maybe LaVar Ball was right?

The eldest and youngest Ball brothers are becoming so successful that the world is beginning to pit them against each other.

For the Hornets, LaMelo is ‘the guy’. The 20-year-old might not be the leading scorer each night but the team will go as far as he can take them. Greatness is within him, and with team-mates comprising savvy veteran stars that are happy to hand the ball over - such as Gordon Hayward - as well as confident scorers - Terry Rozier - and a young group that he can develop with - Miles Bridges, Cody Martin and Nick Richards - LaMelo’s potential is being unleashed. He is averaging 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and is one of the most exciting, marketable young players in the NBA.

That’s not to say he’s a ball hog who is taking over everything.

Both brothers have a team-first style to their play, but Lonzo is more of a traditional point guard: he pushes the ball up the court, sets up an offense and looks to pass before shooting, but his scoring is improving.

The latter part of his skillet has been helped by a vastly improved jumpshot - Lonzo started his career as a 30 per cent shooter from distance, he is now averaging 43 per cent from three-point territory. It is contributing to around 13 points, five rebounds and four assists per game this year.

Fox Sports recently compared the two. It’s natural to do so: the brothers have the same job title - starting point guard on a playoff contender in the NBA - but they each go about it in their own way.

Hornets team-mate Nick Richards obviously has a favourite. He told Sky Sports: “I feel like I got the best Ball brother on my team. I feel like he’s an important part of this team. On and off the floor, he’s a good leader and a good team-mate, he’s always looking out for his team-mates.”

Despite being the leader in Charlotte, LaMelo’s focus on putting the team first is nothing new. And his well documented journey to becoming a leader is probably the most interesting of the trio.

Lonzo always had the hype, and went to UCLA before being a lottery pick for the Lakers. Middle brother LiAngelo was good but his ceiling wasn’t considered high - he also went to UCLA but dropped out after some personal controversy.

LaMelo was taken out of high school by LaVar after successful years at Chino Hills High School, and his story was covered in depth by author and The Ringer Senior Staff Writer Mirin Fader. During her time with Bleacher Report, she chronicled LaMelo’s early professional experience in Lithuania as a 16-year-old, and later in Australia.

He and LiAngelo played together in Europe, a continuation of their time with Chino Hills. It worked at times, but they got more playing time in exhibition games and tournaments that were set up by LaVar, rather than league games.

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As they were stuck in snowy, European towns, hungry for minutes against teams of adult men, their older brother Lonzo was enjoying the California sun. But that doesn’t mean there was any jealousy from the younger brothers.

Fader told Sky Sports about what she learned about the brothers’ relationship during her time covering the family: “I don’t think [LaMelo] is driven by competition between them. They are all really proud of each other and happy for each other.”

While playing with the Lithuanian team, Prienai, the Ball family made a trip to the UK to play against the London Lions. During two exhibition games over two years, Lions head coach and team owner Vince Macauley spent a good bit of time with the family, and his takeaway about how the Balls were approaching their development is similar to Fader’s.

He said: “It’s quite clear that LaVar is the driving force behind everything. It’s not so much a rivalry between the brothers, but when you’re the younger son or the middle sibling, you’re always chasing the sibling ahead of you. That’s what drove the two to keep on going.”

The brothers are proud of each other, and it’s not necessarily the competition that drives LaMelo in the bid to be better than Lonzo, but they are using their siblings’ success as inspiration. They are trying to be the best versions of themselves, but as long as their respective teams remain successful, talk of a competitive rivalry will be there.

It will be present when the Hornets take on the Bulls on 30 November for the first time this season, perhaps more so than last year’s head-to-head games.

In 2020-2021, Lonzo was playing on the New Orleans Pelicans, who were going nowhere, and a rookie LaMelo was learning how to play in the NBA on a Charlotte team that would eventually miss the playoffs.

When they played against each other, both teams lost their road games. LaMelo came off the bench in the first, but nearly notched a triple-double against his brother in a losing effort. His team got the better of Lonzo’s the second time they met, and even though LaMelo had 22 points, he also had five turnovers and a -7 in the win.

“We expect a Ball jersey hanging up there one day,” is what Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson said during Lonzo’s introductory press conference with the Lakers after the draft.

It’s technically not impossible - he might find his way back to LA one day - but the Lakers moved on from the youth movement when LeBron James arrived. Despite this, it’s clear that hopes were high for Lonzo - not just from his father, but around the NBA. While he’s putting together a great season on a winning team, optimism for a hall-of-fame worthy career and a jersey retirement might not be as high as it was during that press conference.

But we might still see a Ball jersey hanging in rafters at some point in the future. Again, it’s technically not impossible that it could be in the Lakers facility, but at this stage, it looks more like LaMelo will get his number retired in Charlotte if things continue on this trend.

So, maybe Magic was right?

Two out of three Balls ain’t bad.

Middle brother LiAngelo is only a year younger than Lonzo, and his season with UCLA was cut short, which didn’t help with his draft prospects. But that is being rebuilt. He has had stints with Summer League and G League teams in recent years, and was even signed to the Charlotte Hornets but was waived before the season started.

So while the Ball family haven’t attended three NBA drafts like LaVar predicted, there is confidence among people who know the family that LiAngelo will earn an NBA contract as a shooting guard at some point during his career. He will never reach the level of younger brother LaMelo, and probably not even his older sibling Lonzo, but they can inspire and support him, and maybe, just maybe, LaVar will be proved right.