For many reasons, LaMelo Ball has an advantage heading into the 2020 NBA Draft that no other player in the draft has. In having an older sibling in Lonzo that has experienced the pre-draft process and early seasons in the NBA, LaMelo has a wealth of information that isn’t afforded to most other prospects.
Recently in a piece with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Lonzo spoke about the edge LaMelo has.
“He’s in the same spot I was four years ago. The only thing now is he is much more knowledgeable than I was. All the failures and negative stuff that I’ve been through, he’s already seen it and already knows about it. He knows the answers to the test before he even went into the class.”
Lonzo has had many things go wrong for him in his first three years in the league. One of the more notable things was the debut of his original Big Baller Brand, the ZO2s, that were not ready when Ball began wearing them in his rookie season at Summer League.
Instead of sticking with Big Baller Brand himself, LaMelo recently signed with Puma. Whether Lonzo’s experiences played into that is unknown, but it’s an example of LaMelo seeing firsthand how the situation played out.
Lonzo has also served as a mentor for LaMelo since he stepped foot in Australia, an invaluable resource to have for a player aiming to make the NBA.