Lamelo Ball: Breaking prejudice with actions, from internet celebrity golfer to NBA superstar

In the NBA spotlight, Lamelo Ball's name is always closely linked to "controversy", "traffic" and "talent". He is a basketball idol in the social media era, the core puzzle of the Bauer family's business territory, and a "counterattacker" who breaks prejudice with actions. When people habitually attribute his success to the family aura, few people really understand: how many dark nights this seemingly cynical boy has experienced to stand on the world's top basketball stage as the 2020 NBA Tanhua Show.

Lamero Ball's basketball journey began in Chinogang, the eastern suburb of Los Angeles, but what really shaped him was not the California sunshine, but the "Trumen World" built by his father Laval Ball himself.

Since childhood, Lamelo's lives with his two brothers Lonzo and Lian Gelo have been surrounded by cameras - the family reality show "Ball in the Family" records every training, quarrel and even their adolescent rebellion. Father Laval pushes his sons to professional basketball in an almost paranoid way, and even declares on ESPN that “my sons will be greater than Jordan”.

This fanatical family marketing has made the Ball brothers the focus of the United States, but it also puts them on the label of "hype products".

When the eldest brother Lonzo entered the NBA as the second-tier in 2017, every step of Lamelo was examined under a microscope: data averaged nearly triple-double in high school was questioned for "scoring points", his exaggerated long-range shot choice was criticized as "sensational", and even his signature fluffy curly hair was labeled as "unprofessional".

What's more fatal is that his father Laval was extremely radical in business operations - he launched sky-high signature shoes, priced at up to $800. Faced with the accusations from the outside world, Laval did not explain anything and responded directly with the remarks of "You can't afford it, you are not a big-name star", which aroused the dissatisfaction of many celebrities, including O'Neal and others, which also made NBA teams full of vigilance about Lamero's "off-court risks".

"People always say that I am a well-designed product, but basketball is my own language." - Lamelo Ball

In order to break free from family narratives and escape from Truman's world, the 16-year-old Lamelo made the first major choice of his career: he refused the invitation of a prestigious NCAA school and went to the Lithuanian Professional League. This decision shocked the whole of the United States because no American player is willing to challenge the harsh environment of the European Professional League in high school, but Lamelo knew that only by quenching the hardest steel can he prove that he is not a bonsai in a greenhouse. Before his 17th birthday, when most of his peers were still stealing wine from their parents' wine cabinets, Lamelo had signed a professional contract with Lithuanian Vitautas and became the youngest professional player in American basketball history. The basketball philosophy here is completely different from that of the United States: tactical discipline is higher than personal performance, physical confrontation is almost barbaric, and fans' boos may even resound throughout the audience due to a defensive slackness. Lamelo, who was speechless, scored only 7 points in his debut, and social media was filled with ridicule of "parallel" and "deserter". But he chose to adapt in the stupidest way: go to the stadium two hours in advance every day to practice strength, watch videos repeatedly after the game to learn the European pick-and-roll system, and even actively ask the coach to arrange for him to defend the opponent's outside core.

Three months later, when he scored 19 points and 6 assists against giant Zargiris, the Lithuanian media began to describe the teenager as "American Miracle". This experience allowed Lamelo to transform from an "Internet celebrity player" to a professional athlete: he learned to stay focused in booing, improve his core strength in muscle collisions, and more importantly, he proved that he could still survive without the protection of his family. In 2019, Lamelo once again jumped out of his comfort zone and joined the Wollongong Hawks in the Australian NBL League.

Here, he encountered a more fierce defense - the NBL is known for cultivating NBA-level defenders, and Ben Simmons and Josh Gidey have all experienced it here. The opponents tried to destroy this "American boy" with double-teams, elbows and even trash words, but Lamelo responded with an all-round performance of 17 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7 assists per game, and became the youngest "triple-double" in NBL history. In order to adapt to the rhythm of the professional league, he carried out an almost cruel physical transformation: 90 minutes of yoga every day to improve flexibility, hired nutritionists to reduce body fat rate to 8%, and even developed a unique "one-foot three-pointer jump" to deal with high-intensity defense. On the eve of the 2020 NBA Draft, Lamelo's draft prospects fluctuated like a roller coaster. Despite winning the NBL Rookie of the Year, the doubts in the scouts' report are still harsh: "Defensive attention is distracted", "bad shooting choices" and "unable to adapt to the off-ball tactics." What's even more serious is that the epidemic has cancelled the joint trial, and he can only prove himself to the team through private training videos.

In the garage in Chino Hills, California, LaMelo started a "one-man war." He hired Kobe's former trainer Phil Handy to conduct targeted special training for 6 hours a day: limiting the dribbling range with straps to improve ball control stability, practicing catching shots in the dark to improve muscle memory, and even letting brother Lonzo simulate NBA-level defensive intensity. This closed training video was later called "the key to changing destiny" by Hornets scouts. In the video, Lamelo collapsed to the ground after hitting 47 consecutive three-pointers, but still asked for "a new set." On the night of the draft, when Xiao Hua read "Charlotte Hornets chose Lamero Ball with the third pick", the boy who always faced the camera with a smile rarely turned red. At this moment, he is no longer the "Battle Dad's son", but a fighter who knocks on the NBA door with his professional league resume on three continents.

Rookie season, Lamelo quickly conquered the league with magician passes and a big heart that surpassed age. 34 points and 8 assists against the Jazz, "no-passing the winner" against the Kings, and the youngest triple-double record in history... But behind these highlights is the epitome of his continued struggle with prejudice:

"He is just a performer?" In order to improve defensive efficiency, he studied Jimmy Butler's horizontal movement skills, gained 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason, and entered the top fifteenth league in the 2022-23 season;

"Unstable shots?" He adjusted his shooting arc, increasing his three-point shooting percentage from 35% of his rookie season to 38.9%;

Lamelo off the court is also reshaping himself. He refused to join the family brand BBB and instead signed a contract with PUMA for 100 million yuan; he invested in e-sports clubs and launched a popular brand, but all business activities strictly avoided the season.

"Basketball is always my first belief."

Today's Lamelo Ball has long surpassed the category of a basketball player. He is a trendy icon on Instagram with 13 million followers, a regular visitor to Forbes's under 30-year-old elite list, and a model for contemporary athletes to break the traditional path - no NCAA gilding, no step-by-step growth script, only a global vision, the courage to embrace controversy, and the most primitive love for basketball.