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The Ball brothers, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo, are a trio of basketball players who have gained a lot of attention since their high school days at Chino Hills High School in California. Their father, LaVar Ball, a former college basketball player himself, and mother, Tina Ball, also a former college basketball player, have been very involved in their sons' basketball journeys. All three brothers displayed exceptional talent and coordination, with Lonzo, the oldest, being the orchestrator of Chino Hills' offense, LiAngelo, the sharpshooter, and LaMelo, the youngest, dazzling spectators with his flashy plays. As of December 2023, Lonzo is 26 years old, LiAngelo is 25, and LaMelo turned 22 in 2023.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Full names | Lonzo Anderson Ball, LiAngelo Robert Ball, LaMelo LaFrance Ball |
| Birth dates | 27 October 1997, 24 November 1998, 22 August 2001 |
| Birthplaces | N/A |
| Parents | LaVar Ball, Tina Ball (née Slatinsky) |
| Heights | 6 ft 6 in, N/A, 6 ft 7 in |
| Teams | Chicago Bulls, Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte Hornets |
| Positions | Point guard, N/A, Point guard |
| Draft picks | 2nd overall pick, undrafted, 3rd overall pick |
| Draft years | 2017, N/A, 2020 |
| Salaries | Highest-paid, N/A, will earn more than Lonzo |
| Social media following | 20 million combined Instagram followers |
| Notable achievements | First set of brothers to be drafted in the Top 3, LaMelo named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021, NBA All-Star in 2022 |
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What You'll Learn
Lonzo Ball's career
Lonzo Anderson Ball, born on 27 October 1997, is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He began playing basketball at the age of four with his younger brothers, LiAngelo and LaMelo, and played football with them at the age of five.
Ball played basketball for four years at Chino Hills High School in California. In his senior year, he was awarded multiple national high school player of the year honours and led his team to an undefeated 35–0 record. He then played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earning consensus first-team All-American honours. He led the nation in assists and broke the UCLA record for most assists in a season. He also won the Wayman Tisdale Award as the top freshman in the nation.
In the 2017 NBA draft, Ball was selected as the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie in the 2017–18 season, he played in 52 games, missing 30 due to shoulder and knee injuries. In the second game of the season, he scored a career-high 29 points, along with 11 rebounds and nine assists. He also recorded his first triple-double with 19 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds, becoming the youngest player to achieve a triple-double at 20 years and 15 days old. In 2018, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Ball began his professional career using sports apparel from his father LaVar's Big Baller Brand. In May 2017, the brand released Ball's first shoe, the ZO2, which sparked criticism due to its high price tag. Despite this, Ball has continued to use the Big Baller Brand and has majority ownership of the company.
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LiAngelo Ball's career
LiAngelo Ball, born on November 24, 1998, is an American professional basketball player and rapper. He played basketball for four years at Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California, where he won a state championship and achieved national success as a junior with his brothers Lonzo and LaMelo, who are both current NBA guards. As a freshman, he started alongside his older brother, Lonzo, and helped Chino Hills reach its first-ever CIF Southern Section Open Division championship game.
Ball was a three-star recruit and UCLA signee, but a 2017 suspension for shoplifting led him to forgo college basketball. He signed with the Lithuanian professional team Prienai, and later played in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league founded by his father. At the end of the 2019-20 season, he joined the G League and was briefly signed to the Detroit Pistons in late 2020 but was waived prior to the start of the 2020-21 season. Ball then joined the Greensboro Swarm in 2021 and later signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Charlotte Hornets' summer league team. He last played for the Astros de Jalisco.
Ball has also pursued a career in music, releasing his debut hip-hop single "Tweaker" in 2025, which charted in several countries and led him to sign a multi-million-dollar record deal with Def Jam Recordings.
In addition to his athletic and musical pursuits, Ball has garnered media attention for his personal life. In April 2023, he and reality television personality Nikki Mudarris announced they were expecting a child, and their son was born in July of that year. The couple later welcomed a daughter in December 2024, but they broke up in February 2025 amid accusations of infidelity and abandonment.
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LaMelo Ball's career
LaMelo Ball is the youngest of the three Ball brothers, all of whom are basketball players. Born on August 22, 2001, LaMelo began playing basketball at the age of four with his older brothers, Lonzo and LiAngelo. He also played flag football with his brothers at age five but continued to focus on basketball.
In 2013, while in seventh grade, LaMelo joined his brothers on the Big Ballers VXT, a 17-and-under Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team launched and coached by his parents. In his freshman season, he started playing basketball for Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California, alongside his brothers and cousin, Andre Ball. In his first game, he scored 27 points as a starter, and the team went on to win the state championship.
However, before his junior season, a coaching dispute prompted LaMelo to leave Chino Hills. On October 2, 2017, he signed with agent Harrison Gaines to play professionally overseas, indicating that he would not pursue college basketball. On November 5, 2018, LaMelo joined SPIRE Institute and Academy, a prep school in Geneva, Ohio, where he played under head coach Jermaine Jackson.
LaMelo Ball was drafted third overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2020 NBA draft, making history with his brothers as the first siblings to be drafted in the Top 5. He was a five-star recruit and had committed to UCLA but chose to forgo college basketball amid eligibility concerns. Instead, he played in Australia for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 2019, where he had a meteoric rise.
Since joining the Hornets, LaMelo has had a successful career. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 and became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. He was also named the NBA All-Star player in 2022. LaMelo has dealt with injuries, including a fractured wrist and ankle, but has consistently returned to the court and signed a contract extension with the Hornets in 2023.
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The brothers' parents
The Ball brothers, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo, were born to LaVar and Tina Ball (née Slatinsky). Both LaVar and Tina played college basketball, with LaVar standing at 6 feet 6 inches and Tina at 6 feet. LaVar played for Washington State and Cal State Los Angeles, while Tina played for the latter. LaVar also played professional football as a tight end for the London Monarchs in the World League of American Football.
LaVar and Tina Ball met while they were student-athletes at Cal State Los Angeles. LaVar has stated that he was attracted to Tina not just because of her looks but also because of her height. In an interview with the Orange County Register in 2017, he joked, "I keep telling people, I picked her for the genes." He further elaborated on this in a USA Today interview, saying, "When I first saw her walking down the hall, I just stopped and I said, 'I don't know what me and you are going to do together, but we're going to do something.'" That "something" turned out to be their three sons, all of whom became basketball stars.
LaVar Ball has also become a media personality and grew into this role in 2017. He founded the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league in which his son LiAngelo played before joining the G League. LaVar also co-founded the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand with his son LaMelo. LaMelo has a signature shoe with the company, which was released when he was just 15 years old. The entire Ball family has starred in the reality TV show "Ball In The Family!" on Facebook Watch.
Tina Ball, the mother of the Ball brothers, stood at 6 feet tall and played college basketball for Cal State Los Angeles. She and LaVar passed on their athletic abilities and love for basketball to their sons, who all became basketball stars. Tina and LaVar's sons began playing basketball at a young age, with LiAngelo and LaMelo playing against older opponents while they were still in kindergarten. The brothers grew up playing basketball together on the Big Ballers VXT, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) under-17 team created by their father and coached by both parents.
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The Ball brothers' fan base
The Ball brothers, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo, have a huge fan base due to both their basketball skills and their off-court personas. The three of them have a combined following of around 20 million on Instagram alone. They have also appeared in a reality show about their family, 'Ball in the Family', which has helped boost their popularity.
The Ball brothers have been in the spotlight since their high school days at Chino Hills High School in California. In the 2015/16 season, the trio mesmerized fans with their exceptional talent and coordination, leading Chino Hills to become the top-ranked team in the nation. All three brothers displayed an uncanny ability to sink shots from beyond the arc, with LiAngelo being the sharpshooter of the trio. The oldest brother, Lonzo, was the orchestrator of Chino Hill's offense, with spectacular court vision and basketball IQ. The youngest, LaMelo, emerged as a showman on the court, dazzling spectators with flashy plays.
LaMelo, in particular, has continued to generate a lot of media attention both on and off the basketball court. Before his junior season at Chino, a coaching dispute prompted him to leave the team and sign with the Lithuanian professional team Prienai, which his brother LiAngelo later joined. LaMelo then chose to forgo college basketball and play in Australia for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 2019, where he had a meteoric rise. He then became the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft, joining the Charlotte Hornets. LaMelo was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 and became an NBA All-Star player in 2022.
The Ball brothers have all gone on to varying degrees of success in the NBA and other associations. Lonzo is an established NBA point guard, currently playing for the Chicago Bulls. LiAngelo, the middle brother, has had the relatively smallest amount of basketball success compared to his brothers. He faced hurdles on his path to the NBA, going undrafted in 2018. However, he has played for various teams, including the Lithuanian team Prienai, the Greensboro Swarm, and the Astros de Jalisco in Mexico.
The Ball brothers' popularity and fan base extend beyond their basketball careers, with their off-court personas and reality TV presence keeping fans engaged and entertained.
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Frequently asked questions
As of December 2023, Lonzo is 26 years old, LiAngelo is 25 years old, and LaMelo turned 22 in 2023.
Lonzo Anderson Ball, born on October 27, 1997, is the oldest of the three brothers.
LaMelo LaFrance Ball, born on August 22, 2001, is the youngest of the three brothers.
Lonzo is 6 feet 6 inches tall, LiAngelo's height is not known, and LaMelo is 6 feet 7 inches tall, making him the tallest of the three.
Lonzo plays for the Chicago Bulls, LiAngelo last played for the Astros de Jalisco, and LaMelo plays for the Charlotte Hornets.
