LaMelo Ball took an unconventional route to the NBA, leaving high school early to play in Lithuania and Australia to bump up his eligibility for the draft.
It worked out well for Ball, who was drafted third overall by the Charlotte Hornets and won Rookie of the Year this past season, and the 19-year-old has no regrets over missing the end of his high school years and collegiate experience.
In fact, Ball was quite critical of school in general.
“You wanna go to the league, so school’s not your priority,” he said in a recent GQ profile that came out on Tuesday.
“We not trippin’ off school,” he added. “We know how to learn. We don’t need school. And school not even teachin’ you s—t — what the f—k is school?”
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Ball’s comments came prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Name, Image and Likeness — something Ball said he felt the NCAA needed to change for athletes to make more money.
Nonetheless, he certainly caused a bit of a stir, which resorted to Ball to clarify some things on his Instagram story.
“Let me rephrase…school not for EVERYBODY,” he wrote. “Now if u wanna b a doctor…BETTA TAKE THT ASS TO SCOO.”
He also had a message for those kids who may use his comments as an excuse to bail on school.
“So please don’t b going to ya mommas talkin bout some ion wanna do school ‘melo said u don’t need it’ when u not like tht and not all the way invested in ya PLAN A which in my case was the (league).”
It seems as if Ball meant for his comments to apply only to elite basketball players and athletes who want to reach the NBA.
Clearly, Ball’s route worked for him but his point that school is not a priority for many incoming NBA (and NFL) athletes certainly has some truth to it.
Many of these players are preparing to play at the professional level and are invested in their craft within the game, rather than their education.
With the new NIL rules, student-athletes may have greater incentive to still go to school, but clearly the route Ball took worked out well for him even if it is not for everybody.
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