Report: LiAngelo Ball Signs Contract to Play in Expected G League Bubble

LiAngelo Ball, the brother of Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, has signed a contract to play in the expected G League bubble, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.

The Pistons waived Ball in mid-December, eleven days after signing him to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. Ball, 21, signed with the Oklahoma City Blue in March but did not appear in a G League game in 2019-20 due to the season's eventual cancellation.

He spent the offseason working out in Detroit alongside his brother LaMelo as LaMelo prepared for the 2020 NBA draft.

"I do all my workouts with Melo right now and I'm just waiting for the next season to start up," LiAngelo Ball told Sports Illustrated in mid-October.

The G League has yet to officially announce its plans for the upcoming season. However, according to multiple reports, the league is planning on creating a single-site tournament in Orlando this February. According to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, teams are expected to gather in local markets in mid-January, before later arriving in Orlando and beginning gameplay around Feb. 8. 

A draft is expected to occur in January that will disperse the players whose rights are owned by G League teams that have opted not to play in the bubble. It is also expected to include veteran players that remain unsigned. 

Ball briefly played in Lithuania with his brother, LaMelo, before his G League stint. He also attended UCLA but went undrafted after leaving school in 2018. 

“Every parent wants their kid to have the best or be the best in whatever they do,” LaVar Ball, the father of the three boys, told Sports Illustrated last fall. 

“I believe my boys are better than everybody. Why wouldn’t I?”