Many people know of the NBA players Lonzo and LaMelo Ball, but do you know LiAngelo? Since playing high school basketball on the same team, these three were always competitive and striving to make the NBA. Led by the three Ball brothers, Chino Hills High School in California went 35–0 in its 2015–16 basketball season, winning the state championship. Many people consider that team to be the best high school team of all time.
Lonzo, the oldest brother, played college basketball at UCLA. He had a successful career in the NCAA, then went on to be drafted by the Lakers as the second pick in the 2017 NBA draft. Lonzo’s career has been stunted by injuries as he is now on his third team. He has returned to playing after a two-year hiatus and is looking to get his career back on track with the Chicago Bulls.
LaMelo, the youngest, played overseas in Lithuania after high school. Subsequently, he played in an amateur league before being drafted in 2020 by the Charlotte Hornets as the third pick. Lonzo and LaMelo became the first pair of brothers in NBA history to be both drafted in the top three. LaMelo is currently the best player on the Hornets, having the best season of his career.
Soon after, many people wondered, “What happened to LiAngelo?” After high school, LiAngelo ran into some legal trouble being arrested for shoplifting on a UCLA team trip. After this incident, Lavar took him out of school to play with LaMelo. Since then, he got cut from the G-league, and his basketball career hasn’t panned out, leading to him being known as the “third brother.”
Recently that narrative has changed, as LiAngelo has now taken his talent to the music industry and is also referred to as G3. On January 3, he released his song titled “Tweaker.” The song has over 900 thousand plays on YouTube alone and is also on Spotify and Apple Music. The song blew up on social media and was known as a meme at first but is now enjoyed. The song brings back nostalgia from the 2000s hip-hop era. The target audience of the song is older people known as “uncs” or “old heads” as most listeners are in their 30s.
“I might swerve, bend that corner, woah-woah…” is the chorus and beginning of the song that many listeners enjoy the most.
Popular content creators Cash Nasty and Flightreacts have listened to this song while streaming, adding to the popularity of the song.
Koen Reid, senior at CB East and a basketball fan, said about the song, “Yeah, I think the song is good. I don’t think he has a future in basketball, but this song is an opportunity for him to make it as an artist.”
LiAngelo is now set to perform at Rolling Loud in Los Angeles in March. Even though LiAngelo didn’t make the NBA like his brothers, he has seemed to find success in another career.
Lavar Ball went three for three for his sons because he effectively promoted and supported them, creating opportunities for their success in basketball and LiAngelo’s new rap career. His relentless confidence and marketing skills helped put his sons in the spotlight, leading to all three of his sons becoming successful. Even though he is a bit controversial, he set all his sons up for success in life.
