Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated
FAMOUS FRIDAY: LONZO BALL
On June 22, 20 year old Lonzo Ball was selected with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Lonzo is a “one and done player” out of UCLA, who played one year of college ball with the Bruins as required by the NBA before turning pro. Lonzo is expected to be a revolutionary, Magic Johnson type of player, and he is living up to the hype. He has won countless awards. During the 2017 NBA Summer League, Ball led the event in double-doubles and triple-doubles recorded becoming the Summer League’s MVP by averaging 16.3 points, 9.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Ball also was named to the NBA Summer League first team.
Lonzo’s father, Lavar, has created quite a stir in the media. He generates a lot of publicity for Lonzo and his other superstar sons. His tweets get almost as much attention as Donald Trump’s. Some people say Lavar Ball is an annoying loud mouth, but others think he is a marketing genius. Lavar played college basketball and a bit of pro football and first wanted to date his wife, Tina, who was also a college athlete, because he thought they would make great athletes together. He was right. Basketball was the families priority from the start and Lonzo’s two younger brothers, Lamelo (freshman in high school) and LiAngelo (junior in high school), have also been offered basketball scholarships from UCLA!
They have established the Big Baller brand and have already launched their first shoe, the ZO2, which is priced at $495!!! This is going to be fun to watch.
– Karson Baldwin, Project RACE Teens Co-President