The LiAngelo Ball redemption story: Will he reignite his NBA dreams with move to Mexico?

After 18 months away from basketball, LiAngelo Ball has returned to the court to play for the Astros de Jalisco of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, the top division in Mexican basketball.

The former UCLA shooting guard has moved over to Mexico to reignite his basketball career and promote his new shoe, the BBB G3, according to the All-Bruins website.

For Ball, it could be the road to redemption and another shot at the NBA after a turbulent college and professional career to date.

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LiAngelo, the second oldest of the famous Ball brothers, was supposed to be the second one in the family to make it to the NBA. However, in a shocking turn of events, LaMelo and Lonzo have made it, not him.

LiAngelo was a star for the famous Chino Hills High School he and his brothers played on, helping them reach the CIF Southern Section and CIF State Championship games as a sophomore, as reported by the San Bernardino Sun.

As a junior at Chino Hills, LiAngelo led his team to a 35-0 record for the season, averaging 27.4 points and winning four trophies.

According to the Los Angeles Times, after a year to remember at Chino Hills, Ball signed a letter of intent with the University of California before his senior year in November 2016, enrolling in the summer of 2017.

In his final year at high school, Ball led the state of California in scoring (33.8PPG), was selected as First-Team All-State, and scored a career-high 72 points with 13 three-pointers over Rando Christian School.

LiAngelo Ball joined his new UCLA teammates in the summer of 2017, playing only one preseason game in November 2017 against Cal State Los Angeles and scoring 11 points, according to Sports Illustrated.

After one game with UCLA, LiAngelo's NBA dreams seemingly came crashing down after being arrested in Shanghai, China, days before the season opener against Georgia Tech.

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ESPN reported that Ball and teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were arrested for stealing luxury sunglasses from Louis Vuitton and other high-end shops in the area, before being released on bail.

The three UCLA freshmen faced three to ten years in jail under Chinese law, but President Donald Trump spoke to President XI Jinping, and the boys were allowed to return to the United States without charge.

After the incident, Trump took to Twitter, saying: "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you, President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!"

Ball and his teammates were suspended indefinitely by UCLA, meaning they were not allowed to travel, train, or play for the team. In December 2017, Ball withdrew from college under the guidance of his father, LaVar, as reported by the New York Times.

In an attempt to revive his career and give him the best chance to make it to the NBA, LaVar took LiAngelo and LaMelo to Lithuania, signing for Prienai in December 2017.

LiAngelo made a decent start to his professional career, scoring 28 and 13 points in his first few games and deciding to enter the 2018 NBA Draft, as reported by CBS.

Ball suffered an ankle injury in April 2018 and left Lithuania with his family just a few days later, with LaVar being critical of the head coach. LiAngelo averaged 12.6 points for the season and wasn't selected in the NBA Draft.

Since he wasn't selected in the 2018 NBA Draft, LiAngelo has bounced around in America, playing in the JBA, his dad LaVar's league, and played one full season in the NBA G-League for the Greensboro Swarm.

Ball was signed by the Detroit Pistons to a training camp contract and joined the Charlotte Hornets on a non-guaranteed contract in September 2022. Since then, his NBA offers have come to a halt, and being 25 years old, his NBA dreams are slipping away.

Can LiAngelo reignite his basketball career in Mexico and potentially get another shot at the NBA?

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