Basketball Is My Favorite Sport
I like the way they dribble up and down the court. Actually, I really like the way one particular player dribbles across the half-court line, drives into the paint, and sinks a switchover lay-up with his non-dominant left hand. That’s if, of course, he hasn’t already danced a few ankle breakers and drained it from his signature sweet spot somewhere one or two yards before the three. No, I’m not talking about Steph Curry, though I wouldn’t hold it against you for thinking that. I’m talking about the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft and favored Rookie of the Year (RoY): LaMelo Ball.
If you follow any sort of basketball coverage at all, you already know about LaMelo and the hype that has followed this kid since 2016 when he was an eighth grader playing on the Chino Hills varsity team with his two older brothers, Lonzo and LiAngelo. The Ball brothers would take this team to an undefeated season against the best high schools in California and across the nation, front-lined by eldest brother Lonzo, himself a 5-star recruit and UCLA commit.
Since then, the Ball brothers have been trending at the top of the basketball strata, thanks in part to incredible highlight reels on social media and their Facebook reality show, Ball in the Family. But also, these guys are just plain good. And Melo is arguably the best of the three despite being the youngest. In fact, watching both his brothers forge a path to professional basketball* ahead of him most likely inspired his own nontraditional route to the NBA.**
I honestly could go on about the Ball brothers ad nauseam. There’s a lot to unpack, both on the professional and personal spectrum of their public lives. But, what I really want to drive home, at least here, is the excitement I feel every time I catch a highlight reel of LaMelo’s latest game.***
The Charlotte Hornets, LaMelo’s NBA team, is based in Charlotte, North Carolina and owned by someone everyone knows, regardless of basketball-specific cultural awareness. I’m talking about the GOAT or Greatest of All Time: Michael Jordan.**** Despite its luminary ownership and a recent 120-million-dollar ($$$) free-agent deal inked to acquire Gordon Hayward, the Hornets have always been middling at best. They haven’t had a winning season since 2016, and the team hasn’t won a conference title, let alone an NBA championship, in franchise history.***** So, why are Hornet highlights pulling in millions of views on YouTube in the year of our Jordan 2021?
Well, if you put LaMelo Ball in the thumbnail and title of your highlight vid, the algorithm will take it from there. Scroll through the comment section and you’ll see why. So many people are tuning in to the Hornets because they’re really tuning in to LaMelo. And though there are the haters who want to see him fail and the hometown crowd that will root on any Hornet, regardless of clout, skill, or name — the overwhelming majority of commentators is comprised of fans, young and old, who want to see LaMelo eventually fulfill his All-Star potential. Will he turn out to be a bust? Or could he really be the next Magic Johnson? Could his savvy passing, high basketball IQ, superb play making, and quirky jump shot****** one day put LaMelo in the company of the greats like Johnson, LeBron James, Steph Curry, and yes, even Air Jordan?
Honestly, only time can tell, but I’m pumped to see what LaMelo will continue to do on the court, because even at the start, he’s been an absolute pleasure to watch. Go ahead and accuse me of jumping on the band wagon, because I’ll whole-heartedly agree. I didn’t care that much about basketball until I stumbled on a YouTube video, deep in the summer of Pandemic 2020, featuring a scrawny kid from Chino Hills putting up a 92 point game like he could do it in his sleep.
From there, I just followed the algorithm, baby. You can buy into the hype yourself by starting here. I won’t apologize if you’re ordering a #2 Buzz City jersey in a month or two.
Thanks for reading.
X
Sam
Footnotes:
*Lonzo plays for the New Orleans Pelicans; LiAngelo is currently a free agent, allegedly in negotiations to play abroad.
**Usually prospective draftees play Division I college ball before becoming eligible for the NBA draft at age 19. This is called the “one-and-done rule” because players typically stay one year in college, then quit once they reach NBA eligibility. LaMelo started playing professionally in 2018 when he signed with Prenai in Lithuania. Though this move made Melo the youngest basketball player ever to sign a professional contract, it also made him ineligible for NCAA recruitment. Instead of college, Melo signed a contract with the NBL in Australia, where he played for a year until he could legally enter the 2020 NBA draft back in the United States.
***Yes, I watch on YouTube. Someday I’ll pay for an ESPN subscription, I promise!
****Jordan’s the best. You can’t change my mind.
*****As of Feb. 23, 2021, that is.
******I think it’s important to note here that LaMelo is the youngest NBA player in history to put up a triple-double.
