Ball brothers land in Lithuania on ‘journey to NBA’

VILNIUS: Flamboyant basketball dad LaVar Ball landed with two of his sons in Lithuania on Wednesday to begin their international pro careers, calling it part of their “journey” to the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.

A Twitter feud with US President Donald Trump shot LaVar Ball into the international spotlight in November.

Trump accused him of being an “Ungrateful fool!” for downplaying his help in getting son LiAngelo returned to the United States from China.

The 19-year-old had been arrested along with two UCLA teammates for shoplifting designer sunglasses.

After UCLA benched the youngster, dad LaVar agreed to a contract offer in Lithuania.

“I’m gonna get all my boys on the Lakers, but we gonna come over here and have some fun first,” Ball senior told reporters Wednesday night after landing at Vilnius airport. His eldest son Lonzo, 20, already plays in the NBA for the Lakers.

Sons LiAngelo and 16-year-old LaMelo will make their pro career debut in Lithuania’s the Vytautas club, ranked last in the Baltic EU state’s basketball league and located in the small southern town of Prienai, population 10,000.

The younger brothers of Lonzo, the LA Lakers’ star rookie point guard, will play more minutes in the less competitive Baltic League, with their debut likely next Tuesday.

US President Trump’s Twitter tirade made the family famous after the LiAngelo’s Chinese shoplifting escapade.

“It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence - IT WAS ME,” Trump tweeted.

“Just think LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you,” Trump continued, before calling the Ball patriarch an “Ungrateful fool!”. AFP