Why is LiAngelo Ball not in NBA? LaMelo Ball brother's short stint in Hornets explored

While two of the Ball brothers were drafted in the top three, the middle brother, LiAngelo Ball, has never played an official NBA game.

A versatile guard by trade like his two brothers, LiAngelo Ball was working towards making his career in the NBA by enrolling at UCLA like his elder brother Lonzo Ball.

However, in 2017, days before UCLA's game against Georgia Tech in the Pac-12 China Game, held in Shanghai, LiAngelo ended up getting arrested in China for shoplifting and was suspended from UCLA's basketball program.

LiAngelo never played a regular-season game for the UCLA Bruins. He instead pursued a professional career with Prienai of the Lithuanian Basketball League when he became eligible for professional basketball. Ball subsequently declared for the 2018 NBA Draft but went undrafted.

"It sucks I didn’t get drafted tonight," Ball reflected. "I guess it was the way I played. I guess. Or the (expletive) I did off the court. At this point, I’m just…I’m good."

After that, he played in his father's LaVar Ball's league, the JBA, where he averaged highly inflated numbers.

Though LiAngelo Ball has never appeared in an NBA regular-season game, he has spent time with the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets during the preseason.

LiAngelo Ball's short stint with the Charlotte Hornets

LiAngelo Ball signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Hornets in September 2022.

He appeared in three preseason games for the Hornets but never scored more than two points. Ball averaged one point, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in three games, playing only 4.7 minutes per game.

However, LiAngelo was waived by the Hornets just days before the start of the 2022–23 NBA season. He spent the 2021–22 season with the Greensboro Swarm, which is the Charlotte Hornets' G-League affiliate.

In 28 games for the Swarm, Ball averaged 4.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 three-pointers made while shooting 40.0% from the field and 36.1% from beyond the arc.

The 25-year-old had also played for the Hornets' Summer League team in 2021, where he played in three games, averaging six points per game.

As for the latest news on LiAngelo's basketball career, a Mexican basketball team, the Astros de Jalisco, took to Instagram to reveal that Ball had signed with the Astros.

LiAngelo Ball made his debut in the Mexican CIBACOPA league with the defending champion Astros de Jalisco. At his age, Ball might yet receive another shot at an NBA franchise if he performs well with the Astros.