LaMelo Ball is objectively the most popular player in the 2020 NBA Draft and subjectively one of the most popular prospects to ever enter the NBA Draft. As the youngest son in the family, Ball has absorbed all the fame that has come their way and has become a global star.
As much as the family fame played a role in his stardom, Ball making stops in Lithuania and Australia to play professional basketball as well as the JBA USA teams stops around Europe.
It’s not a stretch, then, to say that Ball’s popularity surpasses even that of Zion Williamson’s, who burst onto the scene and became one of the most popular college athletes in recent decades last season. Williamson has since joined the Pelicans and his popularity has continued to grow in the NBA.
LaVar Ball recently compared the popularity of LaMelo and Williamson during his appearance on Complex’s Load Management podcast, siding with his son in an unsurprising move.
“Melo’s (aura) is better. Because Melo is worldwide. You take Zion to Germany or Lithuania or Latvia or Estonia or London, they don’t know who he is. You take Melo over there, you know who he is. Like I said, take him over there and see. Ask who Zion is, they’ll look at you crazy like ‘Who is Zion?’”
LaMelo likely is the more popular globally between the two, but it’s also unfair – and likely wrong – to say Williamson also isn’t globally recognized. Duke University is a global brand itself and Williamson’s personal popularity added onto that. Williamson became a social media superstar with his eye-popping plays in high school even before stepping onto the court for Duke.
But LaMelo likely takes the cake still. He is even more of a social media star himself, coming in at 5.3 million followers on Instagram, a bit more than Williamson’s 5.0 million. Once he steps into the NBA, that popularity will only grow.