LaMelo Ball & Manager To Buy Australian Basketball Team

LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball & Manager Purchase Australian Basketball Team

LaMelo Ball is making some major business moves overseas. The 18-year-old professional basketball player and his manager Jermaine Jackson are reportedly in motion to purchase LaMelo’s Australian National Basketball team. Jermaine Jackson tells ESPN,

“We own the team. It’s a done deal.”

However, soon after the reports of LaMelo becoming a reported part owner, the NBL pushed back on those reports, saying that Ball does not yet own the team and has not filed an application to do so.

According to reports, the NBL confirmed discussions about LaMelo’s interest in Illawara but has yet to reportedly receive any type of offer on its nine franchise.

“At this point we are continuing to work with current license holder Simon Stratford on a number of options for what we hope will be a fruitful outcome for Illawarra and the NBL. The NBL has final approval on any transfer of license and no application has been made to date.”

In addition, Jackson opened up on how he and LaMelo came to their discussion on purchasing the Hawks.

“Melo loves the Illawarra fans. He loves that community. They opened their arms to him. They made us feel like we are at home. When we started hearing about the issues they were going through, we talked about it and decided, ‘Let’s own the team.’”

He adds,

“He is going to be locked into his NBA career, but we are going to hire the right people to oversee everything. He wants to create the best basketball program possible for that community there.”

The former UCLA commit arrived in Australia in August as part of the league’s Next Stars program and established himself as a strong candidate to be the top pick in the draft.

The 6-foot-7 point guard averaged 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 12 games with the Hawks, posting back-to-back triple-doubles before a foot injury ended his season. Ball and his brothers have attracted national attention since playing together in high school. His father, LaVar, also grew into a media personality in 2017. Ball has a signature shoe by his father’s company, Big Baller Brand, and a role on his family’s Facebook Watch reality show Ball in the Family.

What are your thoughts on LaMelo buying a professional sports team at 18? Let us know in the comments!