In any NBA Draft it might difficult to assess a player like LaMelo Ball, who departed in the midst of his high school career to play for pay in Lithuania, a Los Angeles minor league team his father, LaVar, created, and finally to Australia.
But add in the odd circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him unable to visit with teams, to interview in person or work out individually with any team. And still, he is forecast to be among the top three picks in the draft - possibly No. 1 overall.
"I feel like [teams are] trying to get to know me because there’s a whole lot of stuff out there that doesn’t really, you won’t even know if it’s me or not," Ball said in a Zoom Call with league media.