LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of NBA All-Star LaMelo Ball, recently revisited Lithuania, the country where LaMelo embarked on his professional career in 2018 with BC Prienai.
When asked about the impact Lithuania had on LaMelo’s career, LaVar responded emphatically, attributing a 100% impact to the experience.
“I’m going to say 100% at the time on the fact that there’s no percentage where it’s like ‘20% here, 20% there.’ No, 100% at the time,” said LaVar.
He highlighted the unique challenges LaMelo faced, playing against grown men at just 16 years old, and emphasized how this experience shaped his son’s resilience and adaptability.
“Melo had to go through a situation where he was very good and was not going to play. You’re playing against grown men at 16 years old. So you’re going to get that type of feeling and you have to go through that. So that allowed Melo to go through that at an early age,” LaVar said.
LaVar elaborated on LaMelo’s journey, noting that after Lithuania, his son played in Australia and then entered the NBA. LaMelo’s early exposure to professional basketball against seasoned players laid the foundation for his success.
“He’s not your local kid fresh out of high school at 18 or 19 years old and be like ‘Oh, now I’m playing against grown men.’ No, we did that over here. It played a huge part in his success,” LaVar explained.
