No. 4 – LaMelo Ball (18 years old, Australia)
Like him or not, LaMelo Ball is an elite 2020 NBA Draft prospect. His father, LaVar, has made the news for years now thanks to his outstanding confidence in his three sons, but he seems to have let LaMelo do his own thing recently. He’s improved his draft stock with his strong play and looks like he can be a star in the NBA one day.
First off, Ball has elite size as a lead guard, standing 6’7″. He may not be done growing, by the way. His shot selection is still a work in progress, but he has deep range on his shot and is a threat to score from anywhere on the court. He’s also a good playmaker when he wants to be.
By far the biggest concern with Ball is his lack of defense. He’s a very poor defender at this stage, and teams are going to try and expose that weakness in his game. You have to bring it on both ends of the floor in the NBA, so hopefully he can show at least a little bit of improvement defensively during the 2019-20 season.
Ball, like Hampton, will be playing in the NBL this upcoming season, but for the Illawarra Hawks. He’s played against grown men in the past and this experience will only help his development as a guard. He’s shown signs of maturity and rapid improvement, so let’s hope he can remain on the right track.