The Big Baller Brand Lithuanian professional basketball experiment will tip off soon.
According to ESPN, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball will make their professional basketball debuts with their Lithuanian team Prienu Vytautas on Jan. 9, where they are expected to play big roles despite their youth.
"They are young, but I can promise that they will play a lot and I hope we will help them to get better and they will help us to win more games," coach Virginijus Seskus told ESPN. "We are waiting for them. Don't worry, they will play!"
LiAngelo, 19, left the UCLA program after his father LaVar pulled him from the school last month. As a freshman he joined the program as a three-star prospect, but he didn't play in any games after being hit with a suspension for shoplifting in China prior to the start of the 2017-18 season. LaMelo, meanwhile, is a 16-year-old five-star prospect whose talent and upside could be the NBA in the not-so-distant future.
Regardless of their NBA prospects, though, the two will get a chance to showcase their abilities in Lithuania where it sounds like they will be welcomed with open arms and ample playing time.
"They will play, but how many minutes it depends how they will play in the game," Seskus said. "But still they will play, and they will also play in the Lithuanian league."
