LiAngelo Ball was not selected in Thursday night's NBA Draft—much to the chagrin of some fans in attendance at Barclays Center, who chanted for Ball prior to the final pick. The middle Ball brother—son of LaVar and sibling to Lonzo and LaMelo—had declared for the draft after one season in Lithuania.
Rumors linked several teams to LiAngelo, but in the end no squad considered him worthy of a draft pick. Nonetheless, prior to the announcement of the final pick (No. 60), fans were still hoping to hear LiAngelo's name. They chanted, "We want Gelo!"
Ahead of the final pick in the draft, the 24 remaining fans launch an impassioned LiAngelo Ball chant pic.twitter.com/yvlWDu2r76
Instead, Philadelphia selected Dayton power forward Kostas Antetokounmpo—the younger brother of Giannis—and traded him to the Dallas Mavericks. Tough break for Gelo, but few were expecting he would actually be drafted—he's not the prospect his older brother was. This does not mean, of course, that he will never play in the NBA. Gelo could very well play in NBA Summer League—it would be surprising if some team didn't give him a shot, given his proven scoring ability and high profile.
Could he wind up playing with his brother in Los Angeles? It's possible, per Shams Charania's draft-night coverage for Yahoo.
The Los Angeles Lakers may have interest in Liangelo Ball if he goes undrafted, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/KsK8NLXdr1
Lakers to bring in Liangelo Ball for the summer league, per @ShamsCharania. The Lakers will use the summer league to “test” Liangelo. pic.twitter.com/1suPuxUpiH
