The Minnesota Timberwolves currently occupy the No 1 pick at the 2020 NBA Draft, with LaMelo Ball and Georgia's Anthony Edwards the two favourites to be taken first. Ball spent last season playing with the Illawarra Hawks in Australia's NBL.
Wednesday 18 November 2020 12:09, UK
LaMelo Ball is embracing the prospect of becoming the first overall pick at the 2020 NBA Draft as one of the most fascinating stories of this year's class takes another major stride.
The No 1 pick, which currently belongs to Minnesota Timberwolves, is believed to be a toss-up between Ball and Georgia's Anthony Edwards, with Memphis center James Wiseman touted as a likely option for the Golden State Warriors at No 2.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Ball confirmed he had worked out for the Timberwolves, Warriors, Charlotte Hornets, who are in possession of the third overall pick, and the Detroit Pistons, who are set to select seventh.
"Being the No. 1 pick definitely holds a lot, but I feel like I was born for it," he said.
"I feel like I'm just the right man for it. Like I said, I feel like I'm born for this whole thing going on, so that's pretty much my answer right there.
"You only go through this process once, so I'm really just enjoying all of it."
Ball is the brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, who was selected at No 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers back in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The 19-year-old has been widely-tipped to become the better of the two and enters the league with significant upside as he continues to develop in both stature and skillset.
His unconventional route has seen him become an internationally-recognised name, starting in Lithuania where he played for Prienai-Birstonas Vytautas at the age of just 16 alongside brother LiAngelo after skipping college basketball.
He later competed in the Junior Basketball Association with the Los Angeles Ballers, before finishing high school at SPIRE Academy in Ohio and then signing for the Illawarra Hawks of Australia's NBL, where he averaged a second-best 17 points per game, seven assists per game and 1.7 steals per game last season.
"I feel like when you go overseas, it's a whole new different style of play; something that you can just add to the arsenal," he said. "So, I feel like it helped me in that aspect."
"You could say it was a gamble, but for me, I already figured out what was gonna happen, me going there, what I was getting myself into," Ball said. "So, it wasn't really a gamble. Just looking [from the outside], you'd probably think it's a gamble."
Ball's season in Australia displayed his incredible vision and surgical passing ability as well as his easy-on-the-eye ball handling, but also inconsistencies to his shooting and weaknesses on defense.
Besides his journey, part of the fascination lies in what he can be coached up to achieve in the NBA.
