LaMelo Ball Biography: Net Worth, Salary, Family and Career Stats

LaMelo Ball is one of those extremely talented players in the league who were born to bless the court of the NBA. After being a basketball-passionate family, Ball had no choice but to play the sport. Eventually, he fell in love with it and used a very unconventional path to secure his entry into the NBA world. It was not normal and definitely not easy since he did not play collegiate basketball under the NCAA. Rather, he used his marketability, secured international basketball club deals, and then entered the cash-rich league.

The Charlotte Hornets' player was a star from the start, whether it be his 92-point game or the half-court shot with just 2 seconds left during his high school career. He just needed a platform, and his father knew that the NBA would accept his son someday. Today, we will be digging deep into the profile of this potential NBA Hall of Famer who is not just another talented baller.

LaMelo Ball Early Life

LaMelo LaFrance Ball was born on August 22, 2001, in Chino Hills, California. He grew up in a basketball-centric family with two older brothers, Lonzo and LiAngelo. Both of them are active in the NBA right now. His father, LaVar, was so passionate about the sport that he trained LaMelo when he was starting to walk after toddling. Soon, at the age of four, he was competing against his older brother in the backyard for scoring in the bucket.

After he became five years old, he balanced basketball with flag football games that he used to play with his siblings. However, he made a choice and started competing with his siblings on the 17-and-under Big Ballers VXT Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team during seventh grade in 2013.

LaMelo Ball Biography

Before moving ahead with the life's ups and downs, including the financial assets of LaMelo Ball, let's know more about his personal profile, including information about his professional life as well.

LaMelo Ball Personal Life

Coming to LaMelo's personal life, he is not quite open about it. He loves to play his game, enjoys the money that he receives from it, and then goes on to dominate the court once again. However, a major part of his life are his brothers, LiAngelo and Lonzo, who both are playing in the NBA.

Lonzo is playing for the Chicago Bulls, while LiAngelo is a player for the Charlotte Hornets. There is another person who has been a major part of his personal life for a long time. So let's move ahead with the discussion about her.

LaMelo Ball Girlfriend

LaMelo Ball is currently in a relationship with model and influencer Ana Montana. Reportedly, Ball has been dating Ana Montana since February 2022. Also, the couple has a significant age gap because Ana is 12 years older than LaMelo. Neither of them has ever shared anything about their relationship on social media. However, when Ana once shared a pic of herself wearing an orange see-through one-piece, LaMelo Ball reposted this photo with some love emojis in the caption.

She has also been seen wearing one of the Ball’s sneakers and a hoodie. Also, an NBA star once shared a pic of Ana Montana from behind on his Instagram story. Ana Montana was flaunting a hoodie from his LaFrance (Ball’s middle name) clothing line. After that, Ana posted that photo with the same hoodie and blue knee-high boots on her Instagram story. These hints often curate the love gestures of the NBA couple.

LaMelo Ball Parents

LaMelo Ball was born to father LaVar Ball and mother Tina Ball. The basketball was a natural attraction for LaMelo since both of his parents were college basketball players. As soon as LaMelo started walking, his father, LaVar, taught him the fundamentals of the game along with the basic tricks of the game. By the age of four, Ball was practising so hard that his older brothers, Lonzo and LiAngelo, were also playing with him.

LaMelo's mother, Tina, suffered a stroke in 2017, but she still backs up her family and sons in their endeavors. Although instead of the basketball support, she continued to be the emotional pillar of the family.

LaMelo Ball Net Worth

LaMelo Ball’s estimated net worth is $40 million, as per Celebrity Net Worth data. A major part of his net worth comes from the NBA salary that he receives from the Charlotte Hornets, especially after his extension signing with the NBA franchise. Moreover, he also inked a deal with Puma before his NBA debut in 2020.

Reportedly, this shoe deal is worth more than $100 million, but the shoe and apparel brand has not gone public to reveal the particulars of this deal so far. But Ball has invested in the sports streaming app Buzzer, which has gained success in recent times. Apart from that, there are luxury cars of Lamborghini and others, along with a mansion that LaMelo Ball has in his possession to add to his net worth.

LaMelo Ball Contract

Currently, LaMelo Ball is on a $203,852,600 worth contract with the Hornets for 5 years. The contract includes the $203,852,600 guaranteed with an average annual salary of $40,770,520. According to this contract, LaMelo will earn $35.147 million while carrying the dead cap value and cap hit of the same amount. Ball has not been waived or traded ever by the Hornets, which in turn has benefited his contract deals.

LaMelo Ball Salary

LaMelo may not be among the highest paid NBA players, but he sure has a big account in the NBA. Here is a year-by-year breakdown of the salary that LaMelo is projected to receive under his current contract and the annual money that Ball has made so far in the NBA, according to Spotrac data.

LaMelo Ball Endorsements

Coming to the endorsements, LaMelo has been enjoying the sponsorship money from the following brands:

• Puma: He signed a multi-year shoe deal with Puma before the 2020 NBA draft, making him a key face for the brand. The deal is reportedly a 10-year, $100 million contract with signature shoes from the brand.
• Beats by Dre: Ball is also connected with Beats by Dre, which he often endorses on his social media profile, especially on Instagram.
• LaFrance: As a passionate connoisseur of fashion, LaMelo launched his own designer lifestyle clothing brand, LaFrance, last year, as per Memorigin.
• Melofaith: This year, in February 2025, Memorigin announced that LaMelo will be launching an international collaboration with Memorigin, a Hong Kong-based tourbillon watch brand. Ultimately, both of them will create a new high-end watch brand called “Melofaith.” This watch is available in two versions: the regular version with a more subdued PVD tonneau-shaped steel case in black and the diamond version with a tonneau-shaped steel case inlaid with 226 diamonds.
  On signing with LaMelo, CEO William Shun of Memorigin said, “We appreciate LaMelo’s dedication and trust. Although I was unable to meet with LaMelo Ball and his team in person in the US due to the pandemic, thanks to today's advanced technology, we were able to communicate via virtual calls. He has given us a lot of comments on how to create a watch that fits his personal style.”

LaMelo Ball Career

LaMelo Ball is an anomaly in the NBA world who chose an unconventional way to enter the league, especially after his high school career. It is worth noting that LaMelo has not gone to college; rather, since he knew he was going to pursue basketball as a professional athlete, he chose to play basketball in different international leagues to prove his worth. His father even formed a separate league for LaMelo as an alternative for the NCAA to get the recognition that his son needed.

LaMelo Ball proved himself again and again, having the most important season of his NBA career so far while playing for the Charlotte Hornets as a guard. Today, we'll be going through the adventurous path that Ball walked on to get his present status within the league.

LaMelo Ball High School Career

Lamelo Ball's high school career kicked off at Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California. Surprisingly, his brothers(Lonzo and LiAngelo), and cousins(Andre Ball) also played on the same high school basketball team. In his freshman season, LaMelo led his team to the CIF Open Division state championship and mythical national championship. His high school team did not lose even a single game out of 35, with Ball averaging 16.4 points and 3.8 assists per game. Eventually, he shared the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year with another NBA player, Onyeka Okongwu.

In his Sophomore season, LaMelo's half-court shot with two seconds remaining got the attention of the whole nation. However, he was all focused on his game and tallied a whopping 92 points against the Los Osos High School. At the end of his sophomore season, Ball averaged 26.7 points and almost 10 assists per game. Ahead of his junior season, LaMelo's father convinced him to leave high school due to differences with new coach Dennis Latimore and school management.

Later in December 2017, he inked a deal with agent Harrison Gaines to facilitate overseas basketball play for him and his brother LiAngelo. Ultimately, it compelled the NCAA to reject his eligibility. So LaMelo skipped the junior and early period of his junior year of high school. Then he joined SPIRE Institute and Academy, Geneva, Ohio. However, in fear of Ball's abilities and SPIRE playing without AAU status, high schools refused to play against LaMelo's team. Also, Ball played internationally, so he was not selected for the 2019 McDonald's All-American Game.

LaMelo Ball College Career

Before college, LaMelo's family sports apparel brand launched the Melo Ball 1 signature shoe in 2017. Also, his agent signing and professional international experience led to the NCAA programs' rejection of him. Eventually, LaMelo moved toward the NBA G League and professional leagues in Australia and China to get the green signal in the NBA world. Ball first went to the Prienai of the Lithuanian Basketball League on December 2017. He averaged 6.5 points and 2.4 assists in his first season, and his father withdrew since he was of the opinion that LaMelo could do better with about 13 minutes of playing time.

From 2018 to 2019, Ball played Los Angeles Ballers in the Junior Basketball Association. It was one of his father's ambitions to groom LaMelo there and then send him to the NBA. That's how LaMelo dished out 39.6 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 11.5 assists per game. Ultimately, she not only won the JBA Championship but also got selected for the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian-based National Basketball League (NBL).

The primary purpose of signing with the team was to get in through the NBL Next Stars program, which aims to develop NBA draft prospects in the future. He played 12 games in the NBL and averaged 17 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game for his team. Later on, he left Australia to prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft.

LaMelo Ball Professional Career

The Charlotte Hornets picked LaMelo as the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. In addition to it, his brother Lonzo also entered the league as a second overall pick in the 2020 draft. On February 5, Ball recorded a then-career-high 34 points, along with eight assists, four rebounds, while facing the Utah Jazz. Eventually, he became the youngest player in franchise history to record a 30-point game. Despite a right wrist fracture on March 21, he returned to the court on April 19 and won the 2020–21 NBA Rookie of the Year. Moreover, Ball also made it to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

In the 2021-22 season, LaMelo first made it to the NBA All-Star game. Meanwhile, in the 2022-23 season, Ball became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in his career, behind only LeBron James.

However, his right ankle injury troubled him, after which he underwent surgery and could not play the rest of the season after March 1, 2023. During the 2024-25 season, Ball tallied 25.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in 47 games. However, the team then announced on March 28 this year that LaMelo will miss the rest of the season to address ankle and wrist issues. Here are the numbers that he has put up in the NBA so far, as ESPN archives:

LaMelo Ball Awards and Achievements

LaMelo Ball's achievements in the short amount of time that he has spent in the NBA are not normal. He is exceptional, and he has been proving it on the court again and again with his performance. He first won the JBA championship and then clinched the NBL Rookie of the Year in Australia in 2020.

After he moved to the United States, he also became the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021. Apparently, it was an all-around performance from Ball despite being a point guard. That's why she also made it to the NBA All-Star Game the next year in 2022. Here are the major awards and achievements that LaMelo Ball has won in his career, as per the following table.

LaMelo Ball Record

First, when LaMelo signed with Prienai in Lithuania, he became the youngest American to ever sign a professional basketball contract. Soon in his rookie season, the Hornets point guard at the age of 19 years old and 140 days became the youngest player in NBA history with a triple-double. That night of January 9, 2021, he had dished out 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Atlanta Hawks.

In February 2023, LaMelo held the privilege of being the first player in Hornets history to record at least 30 points, five rebounds, and 15 assists in a game. The same month, he became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in his career after LeBron. Last year on November 23, when he tallied 50 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, Ball became the third-youngest player in NBA history to score 50.

LaMelo Ball Shoes

LaMelo Ball reportedly signed with Puma on October 14, 2020, at the age of just 19 years old for a whopping $100 million. In an interview with ESPN, he said on the deal before the NBA Draft, “I am really excited to be joining the Puma family. I believe the brand is the perfect partner for me because Puma will allow me to just be myself. I want to be 100 percent authentic, whether that's playing basketball or showing off my personal style, and that's what I want to do with Puma..” The latest version of his shoes, MB.04 Reflections, came out on May 2 this year.

Before Puma, Ball already had an "MB1" signature shoe with his family's Big Baller Brand, which he launched at the age of 16 before going overseas. Although when LaMelo and his brother moved away from the family brand, its co-founder Alan Foster filed a lawsuit for $200 million compensation against LaMelo, Puma, and Ball's family business. As per the complaint from Alan on November 6, 2023, against LaMelo in court, the Hornets baller and his company, MB1 Enterprises, “knowingly engaged” in misappropriation, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and other related “tortious acts” against him.

LaMelo Ball Jersey

LaMelo Ball wears jersey number 1 because it's his preferred number. Moreover, he wore it throughout his early basketball career in high school and professional leagues in Lithuania and Australia. However, he did don the number 2 in his first two NBA seasons because his brother Lonzo Ball also wears number 2. Eventually, LaMelo switched to number 1 in 2022 for the 2022-23 season.

He also prefers the number 1 jersey because it “feels like me” to him, while the number 2 jersey “just doesn't feel right” to the Charlotte Hornets point guard.

How Many Rings Does LaMelo Ball Have?

LaMelo has not won an NBA Championship ring so far in his basketball career in the league. However, he did win the Junior Basketball Association championship while playing for the Los Angeles Ballers. It was a new league that his father, LaVar Ball, created as an alternative to college basketball. LaMelo was the "marquee player" of this league while he averaged 39.6 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 11.5 assists per game in 8 regular season games.