Back to the Charlotte Hornets Newsfeed

LaVar Ball hosts lavish draft party for LaMelo amid pandemic, re-ups challenge to Michael Jordan

LaVar Ball stays marketing.

The boisterous basketball dad who slinked from the scene after some financial mishaps and the failure of the Big Baller Brand seized a new opportunity for the spotlight on his son’s big night.

The Balls hosted a lavish draft-night party at their Chino Hills, California home on Wednesday complete with catering and a Rolls Royce gifted to the man of honor, No. 3 overall pick and new Charlotte Hornet LaMelo Ball.

They invited ESPN’s Tim Keown to document the experience. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged and ruined Thanksgiving plans across the country, the Balls hosted roughly 250 people — by Keown’s count — to bear witness to LaMelo’s big night.