Today the Hornets failed to go any further, losing 103-132 to the Hawks in the playoffs, ending the team's 2021-22 season. Although Lamelo Ball had 26 points, five rebounds and eight assists, he shot only 5 of 25 from the field, 4 of 14 from three-point range, and had a plus-minus of just -13. Despite failing to achieve a satisfactory ending, the three-goal season was still a success, he played 20+6+6, and was selected as an All-Star for the first time. In Charlotte, known as the "Queen's City", the three balls have begun to ascend to the throne.
Back when he was 13 years old, even if the outside world began to hype him, there were still many people who were not optimistic about him. But he finally got to where he is today. Three-goal is already one of the most exciting players in the NBA today, and it will only be a matter of time before he reaches the top.
It was June 24, 2019, the beginning of the last "normal" summer before the pandemic hit, and everything would soon be different.
But that night, a large number of basketball fans waited in front of the TV and mobile phones because it was the end-of-season awards ceremony of the 2018-19 season, which was being broadcast live on TNT. Alphabet Brother won the first of the 2 MVPs, and Doncic was elected best rookie. Comedy star Hassan Minhaj staged a talk show on the spot, "In the past few months, Anthony Davis has been traded, Zion has become a first-class show, and Lamelo Bauer has been sent to boarding schools in Australia," he said.
Minhaj at the time could not have expected that just a year later, Lamello would be selected with the 3rd pick, and a few months later he also won the rookie king. Ironically, the 17-year-old had become an icon of basketball culture, and even on one of the NBA's biggest nights he was the subject of jokes.
At Chino Hill High School, 50 miles from the awards ceremony, Lamelo posted a dynamic online, provocatively asking Minhaj if he dared to make these jokes in front of him, but he later deleted them in seconds. Youthful and harmless.
About three years later, on a February afternoon, La Merello sat at a table in a hotel conference room in Charlotte. He was wearing a black number 1 shirt, revealing that it was the shirt number he wanted to change for the 2022-23 season. In between photo shoots for the magazine, he paced back and forth lazily, reminiscing about his basketball career so far.
At this time, he is no longer the teenager who is over-hyped by many people and will eventually disappear from everyone. You know, on the night of the 2019 awards ceremony, ESPN predicted that Lamelo would be selected with the 2nd pick, or rather, the 2nd pick in the second round.
Referring to the previous questions, Lamelo only smiled at first, but then couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, that's what I said online? That might just be a little trick I played. I wanted to squash that guy (Minhaj). He laughed even louder, "No, I didn't bother to pay attention when people talked to me. I was just joking. What you said to me, I just said a few words in return. To say I meant it? That's not true, maybe it may not be. Doesn't matter. ”
Lamelo went on to say, "I never lie, everything is normal for me. I was confident in my dad and the way he treated me. What I'm saying is that if they don't talk about you at all and don't hate you, you're going to do nothing. You know what I mean? As long as someone talks about you, whether they say good or bad things, they are paying attention to you. I never hold the message of the outside world, 'Oh, why are they talking about me like this?' ' mentality. If you're not part of my family, I don't bother to care what you say. There is no disrespect, that's the way it is. ”
Lamelo always remembers Daddy's words: "He said, 'You're destined to enter the NBA, and I'm convinced of that.'" I thought so from the day I came out of my womb. And all you have to do is make that happen. When I was 14 or 15, I thought I could play in the NBA, maybe I didn't have that chance, but I at least thought so. I've always thought, isn't it just playing. I can shoot if he can, I can dribble. I've always had that mentality. ’”
In 2017, when Ramello traveled to Lithuania to join the professional league, he said that he had received great affirmation, or rather a revelation, that no one could stop him. All walks of life have been quite critical of Daddy's move, believing that it is somewhat seedling-fueled and will eventually cut off Lamelo's NBA road.
Life in Lithuania was difficult, according to Ramello, but it also tempered his will. "The food there is hard to swallow, it's cold, there's not a single acquaintance around me, and that's the life I have to adapt to," Ramello said. I think it's a sacrifice. You know what I mean? That's what I think. ”
Daddy still remembers a big mess that Ramello caused when he was in kindergarten, and it was as if it happened yesterday. On that day, kindergarten teachers asked the children what songs they liked to listen to the most. The teacher walked around the house, and each child took turns answering. By the time Lamelo finally answered, he seemed eager to share his favorite lyrics with his classmates.
"As a result, the child began to recite the lyrics of a DMX song, which had a lot of dirty words that the teacher drank directly," The ball daddy recalled, "Before this, no one had ever said to Lamelo under any circumstances, 'Hey, no dirty words!'" It was all because I had them listen to these songs when they were getting ready to play, and he used to listen to DMX songs, and the songs his brothers would listen to. ”
According to Daddy Ball, as the youngest child in the family, Lamelo will always stay with his brothers, no matter where the ball brother and the second ball go, Lamelo is like a fart. He would also play with his brothers. Daddy Ball once said that if you search on Google, you will find a video of 11-year-old Lamelo playing against high school students in an AAU match.
"We usually host 'Movie Nights' events on weekends. I used to tell kids that they could invite friends to play with, but Lamelo never invited his friends, but always invited his brothers' friends, kids who were older than him, he never liked to play with kids younger than himself," Daddy said, "When we were teaming up for high school leagues, the players on the team were too young, so I always invited some 17-year-olds to join in, to balance the age of the team, such as the need for them to grab rebounds or something." The guys all have tattoos and goatee, and several of my kids are still in elementary school. But they acted as bodyguards for my children. Lamelo would always say crazy things. He would speak in imitation of the tone of the older children. You obviously hear the childish voice of a small child, but you hear from his mouth what an adult can say. He's always been like that. ”
But Lamelo's improvement on the field is only one aspect. Later, Daddy decided to relocate his family to the relatively wealthy Chino Hills, far from the southern neighborhood of Los Angeles where he grew up. After moving, Daddy and his wife Tina still return to their hometown with their children from time to time, after all, their grandparents still live here. In addition, Daddy hopes that while enjoying the superior living conditions of Chino Mountain, he must also maintain the perseverance and bravery of the residents of southern Los Angeles, and deeply realize that there are always some unfortunate people living in a completely different environment from them. Returning to the south neighborhood of Los Angeles has played an important role in the growth of children.
Daddy also wants to make sure that his sons aren't fooled by the glitz in front of them before they enter the professional league, and that when that day comes, their lives don't change dramatically. To this end, when I was still in high school, the ball brother and the second ball would drive a white BMW 7 series to the market. And when La Mello celebrated his 16th birthday, he received a unique gift: a Lamborghini sports car. At that time, not many people except Daddy Ball understood his purpose in doing so.
"If I want my sons to live the life of an NBA player as early as possible, it can't be like other superstars. When they tempt them with luxury cars, they think, 'I have a BMW parked outside, what else do I want to do?' "After entering the NBA, you finally can afford the BMW or Cadillac Careyd that you have always loved, but my three sons have been driving these luxury cars since high school," Daddy Ball said, "for example, Lamel, when the media asked him if he was excited about Puma's signing shoes for him, he replied that he already had signature shoes when he was 16 years old, and it didn't feel different." Some people have broken their heads in order to have their signature shoes, and he has already experienced it, and this fresh feeling is only once in a lifetime. ”
Lamelo also said: "By the time I reached a certain age, I had already experienced everything and really began to understand what my dad was doing. When we were still very young, we formed our own team under his leadership and went to play with the local children. Back then, you would say damn it, he actually asked us to pass, to shoot, to grab rebounds, to steal, to do anything. But stick with that, and when you get into an NBA team and surround yourself with NBA players, you'll feel like it's all simple. ”
That's how Lamelo got to where it is today. Now just 20 years old, he is already the signature star of an NBA team, and before his arrival, this team and the city were not much to be proud of. An example of his influence is that according to the Hornets, the number of season ticket holders of the Hornets has increased significantly after Lamelo's arrival. In fact, the Hornets, who had won less than 50% of the previous seasons of La Mello, had become a contender for playoff tickets for the last two seasons.
Despite his young age, Lamelo has achieved some success. He is the 4th young All-Star in NBA history, behind Kobe, James and the Magician. Earlier in the season, he led the Hornets in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game, while only last season's MVP Jokic did the same. In addition, in February of this year, La Mello also became the second youngest player to reach 700 total assists in his career, behind James.
Of course, it can't be all smooth sailing. From late January to the end of February, the Hornets lost 13 of their 17 consecutive games and struggled to qualify for a play-off. While La Mello focused on getting playoff tickets, he realized it was a necessary process, just like his experience before he entered the NBA. From Lithuania to Australia, he always believed that he would not suffer too many hardships in life and that all his goals would be achieved sooner or later.
"When the team put the scepter in my hands, I felt like the situation of the team was completely new. But until then, I'm still going to do what I need to do, to try to win," Ramello said, "I'm not lying, every game I feel like I can actually do more." It's important to read the game and the situation, and the teammates are all working together to play a steady performance. If you can do it, it will all be done. ”
"You can't talk about success until you win the title, the important thing is that every season is better than the previous season. We will one day get what we want. (Supine Brace/Mao Mao, compiled from SLAM magazine)