With the NBA 2020 Draft weeks away, where does LaMelo Ball land in the draft? And what can he learn from his NBL season for the NBA?
LaMelo Ball is one of the most polarizing draft prospects in recent NBA history. Ball has been in news cycles since he was a 13-year-old when he verbally committed to UCLA. As Ball’s life unfolded he ended up not playing in college and joined R.J. Hampton as the two-high profile “Next Stars” prospects to sign in the NBL (Australian Basketball League).
He signed with the Illawarra Hawks to be their star player and was given the keys to the offense, ranking within the top 10 of the NBL for usage rate and averaged 31.2 minutes per game in a FIBA 40-minute per game league.
It paid off, individually that is. Ball leaped up draft boards and despite playing less than half the season’s 28 games. He was awarded the NBL Rookie of the Year averaging 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.
Ball’s season was cut short due to a foot injury and only played 12 games in the NBL. His record was subpar, only winning three out of his 12 games played before leaving the country to rehab and continued his pre-draft work back home in the United States.
When it came to the games (what really matters) LaMelo Ball was what you may expect, it was a spectacle and a highlight generator — the season was exciting, strange and glamorous.
His highlights and basketball mixtapes have seen millions of views on social media — when Ball faced off against the other next star R.J. Hampton it broke NBL viewership records with two million people worldwide tunning in.
Well, it comes down to LaMelo Ball himself, off the court there is baggage when you hear the name “Ball”, fairly or unfairly it’s true. When he’s on the court there are questions too, the ability to facilitate and score around the ring are unquestionable – but the defense, shot selection and attentiveness have been all questionable.
So, let’s break down what LaMelo Ball does well, not so well and what to expect when he comes into the NBA as a top 3 pick.
2020 NBA Draft Profile
Name: LaMelo Ball
Height: 6’7″ (6’10” Wingspan)
Weight: 190 pounds
Position: Point Guard
School/Club: Illawarra Hawks
NBA Comparison: Shaun Livingston, Jason Williams.
2019-2020 statistics
17 PPG
7.6 RPG
6.8 APG
35.7 FG%
25.0 3P%
72.3 FT%
Strengths: Playmaking
The most obvious strength of LaMelo Ball’s game is his playmaking, rather than playing against other teenagers in college Ball was playing against men, with actual defensive structures and against coaches who coach NBA-level defenses.
If you only take away one thing from this piece let it be this — LaMelo Ball could be considered one of the best passers this generation, alongside Luka Doncic, Ben Simmons, and Trae Young.
Pick and roll
LaMelo Ball’s passing is broken down into three categories: the improvisational, the full court, and the pick and roll. Starting with the pick and roll, Ball has already mastered how to use screens and places the ball in such a way that it will be a layup or a trip to the free throw line.
Ball showed that if you put him with screeners, he will make the best of it. His ability in the pick and roll would translate in the NBA magnificently — and it doesn’t have to be with big lumbering centers, the way he’s finding players’ pockets means it’s going to work even if the guy screening him is 6’8”.
The pick and roll is a staple of the NBA’s offenses. In the 2019-20 season, Trae Young and Damian Lillard individually ran 900 or more pick and rolls, with Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, and Chris Paul all running 500 or more.
If your team needs a pick and roll ball handler LaMelo Ball is your guy.
Playmaker
Like his brother Lonzo Ball, LaMelo is an exceptional outlet passer and improvisational playmaker. He creates something out of nothing more often than not with his passing — that’s why he’s so highly touted as a prospect.
Ball hits his targets right on the money and he is seeing plays unfold before the defense is or even the guy he’s passing to figures out what’s happening.
Note: This collection of passes is longer than I generally prefer to include but if you haven’t seen the highlight reels, this is a version without all the music and rapid cuts — I recommend watching this collection of jaw-dropping passes.
In these situations, the skill set Ball has almost guaranteed a score or a decent shot attempt, in some of these possessions he’s creating offensive in otherwise dead plays while the other team brings up the ball. On a team with a good defense Ball could lurk — ready to pounce on any fast-break opportunity, similarly to what Golden State Warriors do with Draymond Green.
LaMelo makes a lot of his assist from driving and collapsing the defense, finding cutters and shooters. The threat of him driving is real, so let’s look into what he does well as a finisher.
Strengths: Finishing
When LaMelo Ball is focused on attacking the rim — rather than taking his third contested early-shot clock three for the game. Ball can be both a violent dunker or a sleek and graceful finisher off the glass.
When you take his field goal percentage into account, he shot an abysmal 37.0 percent from the field, if you go off his two-point field goal percentage (removing the awful 3s he’s taken) it’s a more palatable 45.8 percent.
Ball is more than capable of being a Ben Simmons-Esque driver, obviously with less size but the playbook still applies – drive to the basket, find cutters or open shooters if not, dunk it or lay it in. Unlike Simmons, Ball is more than willing to take outside shots — and when they are falling it allows him to bite at the defense to create more open drives when they react to his hesitations.
He often falls back on a floater (which is reliable but he uses it too far out) when he feels like he can’t get over guys. More often than not the floaters he takes actually aren’t necessary and drawing a foul by driving with his length would be a better (and more efficient) choice.
His overall athleticism and length are a great starting point to an already gifted basketball player, his natural touch has been tested in the NBL and he’s proven can score in a professional league, rather than just against high schoolers or college kids his age.
If there’s one knock on his scoring around the basket it’s the frequency he attempts to make highlight plays or gets “too cute”. In most cases, he’s able to just lay it in normally or dunk it but tends to go for the “jelly” type moves.
Ball loves taking difficult, inefficient shots that would make a coach pull their hair out, now it’s time to dive into the weaknesses.
LaMel Ball’s weaknesses: Shot selection
LaMelo isn’t a bad shooter, it’s the volume that’s killing his percentages – it might be a reason why he’s not considered The Number #1 Pick. LaMelo Ball’s team sprinkled was sprinkled with above-average shooters around the arc and still took 6.7 3-point attempts per game, he made 1.7 3-pointers per game and overall shot 25.0 percent.
He’s not taking these because he’s wide open and the defense is daring him to shot. Ball is pulling up multiple feet behind the line and shooting it with 16 seconds or more left on the shot clock.
I went through a lot of film and covered the entire NBL 2019-20 season, this collection was just a handful of the attempts during the season.
WARNING: viewers discretion advised this video includes a bunch of inefficient shots
As I said, he is not a bad shooter. But the endless bombardments from the arc were an eyesore and begs the question? How much is too much confidence? and did he take Lonzo Ball’s confidence like the Monstars took Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing’s talent?
When breaking down his finishing around the ring, the games where he was on fire from three LaMelo Ball looked unstoppable. It was like watching a skinny, athletic Carmelo Anthony, jab steps and launching threes with a dangerous look in his eyes — the three fingers to the dome celebration and all of that.
If he works on reducing the volume of 3-point attempts and becomes a better catch and shoot player, he can become a more useful offensive player and with safer shot selection.
LaMelo Ball playing off the ball
When it comes to LaMelo Ball without the ball it’s a bizarre scenario. This is a real question, besides when he was 14 when he played off his brothers at Chino Hills, has LaMelo Ball ever been off-ball is his life playing basketball?
The answer to that is yes, for three games NBA veteran Aaron Brooks was the starting shooting guard for the Illawarra Hawks before tearing his Achilles tendon ending his season down under.
Besides that, LaMelo hasn’t been in a significant game or a team where he’s been an off guard, and isn’t that troubling if you’re the Timberwolves with D’Angelo Russell? or the Warriors with Curry and Thompson?
In the tiny sample size, it was as you may expect — he was lost and drifted into the high corners of the half-court waiting for the ball to be returned to him. At times he was cutting to the rim or screening for a teammate but mostly it looked like a pale gangly James Harden.
Speaking of James Harden, how is LaMelo Ball’s defense?
LaMelo Ball’s defense
There is high defensive potential for LaMelo Ball, he stands at 6’7”, with a 6’10” wingspan and is athletic enough to contest bigs when he jumps vertically — with foot speed and length to smother guards. This was broken down in more detail by ESPN’s Mike Schmitz, it was a more sympathetic approach when breaking down Ball’s defense — but I still do recommend watching.
Ball lead the league in steals last season at 1.7 per game, being a good thief (maybe he can teach Liangelo) doesn’t always mean you are a good defender – Allen Iverson (3x Steals leader) and Stephen Curry both lead the league but were never considered “defenders”
He’s excellent at reading passes from defenders and often sprints and the chance to grab it, normally leaving him loitering at half-court while his defender blows past him making it a 4v5 possession. Sometimes he actually gets the steal and it’s turned into a fastbreak — an easy flush or dime is the result, often being spectacular, but the gambling on steals was a huge issue for the Hawks defense.
Ball is prone to be lackadaisical or inattentive on defense, at times his eyes drift, and repeatedly ends up ball watching. Which has resulted in either a wide-open lane or an open shooter.
He has a lot to improve on when it comes to his fundaments on defense: man to man, running around screens, and contesting without fouling come to mind.
Despite that he has the stuff that can’t be taught, lurking in the passing lanes, the tip passes or rebounds and the high IQ reads on both steals and blocks.
LaMelo’s defense is one of the main red flags with his game when it comes to the NBA and his size should allow him to be switchable — but he’ll need the right coach and mindset to become a fundamentally sound defender. ‘
With the good, the bad, and the inefficient out of the way – how should NBA teams see LaMelo Ball and how mock drafts see LaMelo Ball currently, and for the future.
The overall outlook for LaMelo Ball
Ball is projected to be a 1-to-3 pick in the NBA draft and there’s no real debate around it. The upside of a 6’7” passing savant, is too much to pass on (no pun intended.) This is especially since the quality of this draft at the top on the board compared to other years. Draft gurus only state three players who should be considered the “star” prospects – James Wiseman, Anthony Edwards, and LaMelo Ball.
Who should take LaMelo Ball in the NBA draft?
For this discussion, there will be no trade scenarios involved with teams outside the top 5 picks, which includes in order – Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Timberwolves would fit with Ball… on offense, kind of. D’Angelo Russell would be forced off-ball for a majority of the game and yes, he’s a good shooter but he generally has succeeded when the rock is in his hands. That being said it would be perfect with Karl Anthony Towns, pick and roll/pop every third possession and Ball can actually throw an entry pass.
However, the Timberwolves might be the worst defense in history? A Ball, Russell, and Towns lineup would have the other teams licking their lips on offense.
The Warriors want to win, maybe he’d work but defense matters to the Warriors and I’m not sure Draymond would stay sane with both Andrew Wiggins and LaMelo Ball on his team.
The Hornet could use anything at this point so sure, throw them a bone.
The Bulls could trade up and use him, they desperately need a playmaker. And yes, it would also be a bad defense but at least they have Wendal Carter Jr? I broke the fit down previously, and overall it would be a solid fit.
Additionally, Bulls.com writer Sam Smith and I spoke about on the Chicago Bulls website.
And lastly the Cavs, oh the Cavs… they have Collin Sexton and Darius Garland (both guards), so adding Ball would just be the old “hope someone turns out great and trade the other one(s).”
My personal opinion would be from three teams, The Timberwolves, the Bulls, and the Warriors… in a draft and trade with a team like the New York Knicks or Detriot Pistons.
Head coach Matt Flinn speaking about LaMelo Ball.
The head coach of LaMelo Ball with the Illawarra Hawks was Matt Flinn. Coach Flinn spoke to Hoops Habit about LaMelo as a player, person, and his drive to improve.
"He (Ball) had a great attitude for basketball and displayed a growth mindset towards his basketball development with me, and as a result, we saw the trajectory that he was on going back to back triple-doubles’. I am proud to have played a big part of his development. When you reflect on what he was able to do individually in the NBL at such a young age it is quite remarkable."
The NBL will be watching but so will the world and we’ll all be watching where LaMelo Ball goes in the 2020 NBA draft.