Thursday was a big day for the Ball family: LiAngelo hoped to hear his name called in the NBA Draft, and LaVar officially launched his new basketball league, the Junior Basketball Association. It appears neither event, however, went as LaVar would have hoped.
LiAngelo went undrafted—though it appears he has received a Summer League invitation from his brother's team, the Lakers—and the JBA didn't have much of an audience.
From the looks of it, several hundred fans attended the league debut at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. The JBA used black curtains to cover empty seats in the upper decks.
LaVar spoke at center court at one point, and he didn't seem discouraged—is that man ever discouraged?
"They said nobody's coming to this," LaVar said. "Everybody here is somebody. Nobody here is nobody."
Granted, it's a new league, and it's going to take a while to get off the ground. Furthermore, you couldn't expect big numbers when the league's launch coincided with the NBA Draft.
LaMelo Ball was the biggest star of the day, leading the Los Angeles Ballers over the New York Ballers (yes, the teams are all named Ballers), 134-124.
Broadcasts of both opening games are available on the JBA's official Facebook page.
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LaVar Ball has filed for trademarks of 'JBA' and 'Junior Basketball Association' with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
