The 3 Ball Brothers Ranked Oldest to Youngest

The Ball family is a trendy name in sports, as they have had a significant impact on basketball. LaVar Christopher Bal, the patriarch of the family, is a former football player. His sons – the trio Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo – have made history in the sports arena, and consistently capture headlines. The entire family has starred in the reality TV show, Ball In The Family!, an amusing and intriguing drama on Facebook Watch.

The three brothers’ career has been a burgeoning success, as they are the only brothers to be picked in the top five of the NBA Draft. LaMelo was the last of the Ball brothers to join the NBA, and has had great seasons of play.

Stay with us as we talk all about the three Ball brothers, rank by age.

3. Lonzo Anderson Ball

photo source: Wikimedia Commons

Lonzo is a professional athlete playing in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls after a spell with the Pelicans. He has been playing basketball since he was two years old.

Ball made the headlines in 2017 as the second draft pick for the LA Lakers prior to his affiliation with the Pelicans two years later. Standing at a towering 6’ 6”, point guard has continued to grow professionally in the league, becoming one of the most exciting young players in the NBA.

Lonzo’s career did not start in the NBA, but much earlier – in high school. He is well-decorated with multiple honors and awards for his efforts and discipline in the sport. The young player came into prominence playing for Chino Hills High School in 2016, together with his younger brothers. The team went on to create an undefeated record, as well as clinch the national championship. During the 2016-17 season as a college freshman, Lonzo held the UCLA record for the most assists in a season while leading the nation in assists at the UCLA Bruins.

With his impressive feats throughout the season, he won the Wayman Tisdale Award for the Top Freshman in the Nation. The young player was rated a consensus five-star recruit at the end of his high school career. While playing for UCLA, Lonzo won the MVP of the Wooden Legacy after leading his team to victory over Texas A&M in the championship game.

After joining the Lakers, Lonzo’s playing time was significantly impacted by shoulder and knee injuries, which eventually led to his being traded to the Pelicans. He played for the team for two combined seasons before joining the Chicago Bulls.

Lonzo Ball has had a complicated relationship with his girlfriend Denise Garcia, with whom he has a young daughter, Zoey Christina Ball. Lonzo has broken up with Denise since his daughter’s birth in 2018, and is now dating Instagram model, Ally Rossel.

Did You Know?

Lonzo has beaten and created multiple records in his career. In the 2017 season, he had over 10 assists in four games, becoming the first in league history to have over ten assists in more than one game. His 9.3 average assists became a league record.

2. LiAngelo Robert Ball

photo source: Wikimedia Commons

LiAngelo is the middle son of LaVar, and a professional basketball star who has played in both the U.S. and Lithuania.

Becoming a basketball player was only natural to LiAngelo, as the young boy was born to a footballer dad and basketball-playing mom, Tina Ball. LiAngelo started practicing sports at age four, and was playing the game with his elder brother at age 7.

Later on, LiAngelo joined Lonzo at Chino Hills High School in California, and went on to win state championship games. However, the journey was not an entirely smooth one; LiAngelo suffered a foot injury prior to the 2014 season, missing a tournament at Fairfax High School.

In 2017-2018, LiAngelo prepared for the professional draft taking pre-draft workouts with the Lakers, Warriors, and Clippers. Though he was not ultimately drafted that year, he was happy for his brother Lonzo, who was a second-draft pick for the LA Lakers.

LiAngelo’s career was threatened after a high school shoplifting incident in China. At that point, LiAngelo was a three-star rookie and UCLA signee, but he had to forego college basketball after his suspension for the China incident. He signed for Prienai, a Lithuanian professional basketball team, and lost the first game.

In spring, 2018, LiAngelo notified the public that he would participate in the 2018 NBA draft, despite statistics and analysts giving him only a slight chance. In the 2019–20 season, he took part in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA) prior to going to the G League. He had a brief stint with the Detroit Pistons at the start of the 2020–21 season before joining Greensboro Swarm in 2021.

As his family’s social media presence grew, LiAngelo became a reality TV star in a show on Facebook Watch. He signed shoes for his father’s company, Ball in the Family.

The Californian basketball player is currently dating a fellow California-born athlete, Jaden Owens.

Did You Know?

LiAngelo Robert Ball has been playing basketball against older players since he was a toddler. He used to play against teams of fourth and fifth graders while he was still a kindergartner.  

1. LaMelo LaFrance Ball

photo source: Wikimedia Commons

Born at the turn of the century in 2001, LaMelo (Melo) is the youngest of the Ball brothers. 

While many skeptics doubted his abilities, LaMelo has gone on to overshadow his brothers, creating a real name for himself in basketball. LaMelo was the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft, making history with his brothers as the first siblings to be drafted in the Top 5. He’s had outstanding form since joining the Hornets, and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021. He also went on to become the NBA All-Star player in 2022.

Like his brothers, LaMelo began his career at Chino Hills High School in California, where he ended up winning the state championship as a freshman. He also played in the JBA, his father’s league, and the Lithuanian league.

While the young athlete intended to play for the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball, LaMelo decided to forego college and join the Illawarra Hawks in Australia, winning the NBL Rookie of the Year.

Like his father, he is a shrewd businessman, though in late 2020, he failed to buy his former club, Illawarra Hawks. 

LaMelo has a large following on Instagram, with an audience of over 8.5 million. In 2017, the basketball star became the youngest athlete to have a signature shoe named after him, the Melo Ball 1. Of course, it probably helps that his father’s company created the shoe, but we’re willing to bet that he would have earned this honor regardless.

LaMelo has continued to generate a lot of media attention both on and off the basketball court due to his family’s reality TV show. The 20-year-old player is dating a 33-year-old Instagram model, Analicia Chaves.

Did You Know?

Before his junior season at Chino, a coaching dispute prompted LaMelo to leave the team and sign with the Lithuanian professional team, Prienai, which his brother later joined.