The Ball family has been paving untrodden path form much of their lives and that was the case once more on Wednesday. With LaMelo Ball being selected No. 3 overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2020 NBA Draft, he and Lonzo become the first set of brothers to be top-5 draft picks in league history.
Only one other set of brothers were selected in the top 10 in league history, Eugene and Purvis Short in the 1975 and 1978 NBA Drafts, respectively. Eugene was drafted No. 9 and Purvis was drafted No. 5. Conversely, Lonzo was the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers before LaMelo went one spot later on Wednesday.
LaMelo’s draft stock was murky at times but hardly ever seemed like he would fall out of the top five. His pair of workouts with the Minnesota Timberwolves individually and then a group workout with the Warriors, Hornets and Pistons solidified his spot in the top three and ensured the brothers could make history.