LiAngelo, LaMelo Ball reunited in Charlotte

The Charlotte Hornets announced the signing of forward LiAngelo Ball, older brother of LaMelo Ball, on Thursday.

LiAngelo Ball appeared in five games with the Hornets at the 2021 MGM Resorts Summer League in Las Vegas where he averaged 9.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 17.4 minutes per game.

LiAngelo Ball is expected to play for the Hornets G-League team, the Greensboro Swarm. Ball was slated to enter the G League Draft but signing allows Charlotte to acquire his rights.

Ball, 22, played high school basketball for Chino Hills alongside older brother Lonzo and the aforementioned LaMelo. A three-star recruit, Ball committed and signed to play for UCLA. Days before UCLA’s regular season opener against Georgia Tech in Shanghai, China, Ball and two other freshman teammates were arrested for allegedly stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store. Ball was suspended indefinitely but later withdrew from the university.

After withdrawing, LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball signed with the Lithuanian Basketball League, and played for less than one season before returning to the United Stattes. After a stint with the Los Angeles Ballers, a team in the Junior Basketball Association, a league founded by his father, LaVar, LiAngelo Ball signed with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder G-League team in December 2019. A year later, Ball signed with the Pistons on a training camp contract but was released just days later. After impressing Hornets staff members while working out with his brother, LiAngelo Ball earned an opportunity to play for the Hornets in Summer League, leading to his new contract.

LiAngelo Ball now joins his brother LaMelo, on the Hornets. LaMelo Ball was selected by the Charlotte Hornets third overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. Ball won Rookie of the Year in the 2020-2021 season after averaging 15.7 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds in 51 games.

LiAngelo and LaMelo’s oldest brother, Lonzo, agreed to a four-year, $85 million contract with the Chicago Bulls as a restricted free agent. Now in his fifth season, Lonzo Ball will open the season on his third NBA team. The oldest Ball was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers second overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. After two seasons, Ball was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a package for superstar Anthony Davis. After just two seasons with the Pelicans, Lonzo agreed to a sign-and-trade deal, to join the Chicago Bulls.