Earlier this season, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that NBA teams were flocking to Wollongong, Australia to watch LaMelo Ball play due to fear that the 18-year-old would end his season with the Illawarra Hawks early to avoid getting injured before the 2020 NBA Draft.
Those concerns were legitimate, especially considering how poorly the Illawarra Hawks have played this past season, but it seems they were premature. In an interview with Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports, Ball said that he plans to finish the season in the NBL with the Hawks:
Contrary to some rumors, LaMelo told Yahoo Sports he is staying in Australia for the entire season despite his team’s last-place record of 3-9. “I don’t know where that rumor came from, but when I decided to come play over here, I committed to the whole season. I’m not leaving early,” he told Yahoo Sports.
That means Ball won’t return to the United States to prepare for the NBA Draft until after Feb. 14, when the Hawks will play their final game of the 20-round NBL season. By then, he’ll have a pretty good idea of where he’s going to go in the draft, barring an incredible NCAA tournament run by one of the top-five prospects.
Ball is currently projected to go No. 1 overall by ESPN.
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