The Ball Family are known around the world and garner attention no matter where they go. With their popularity in the sports world, some people consider them the "Kardashians of sports." While they are very popular in America, they are also very well known in Lithuania (where they currently reside, as Gelo and Melo are playing professional basketball for BC Vytautas which is in Prienai, Lithuania).
Family time
While eating dinner at a pizza place with the family, LaVar mentions that they will be attending the Lithuanian Grammys and that he will be presenting an award.
Attending the Grammys meant that they would have to walk down the red carpet with all eyes and cameras on them because of their popularity in Lithuania and around the world. This scares his wife Tina as she is recovering from a stroke and has a difficult time walking. What makes it more difficult is the fact that all the cameras will be on them which makes Tina feel like there is a lot of pressure.
Since they Ball family is attending the Grammys, they need to go shopping to get suits and a dress for Tina and her mom Noni. While trying things on, Tina falls off the stool she was on which causes everyone to panic but luckily, she seems to be fine. LaVar jokes about Tina's falling, saying, "I always got the women falling for me" and "You've been falling for LaVar all these years and you still fall."
On the court
Gelo injured his ankle in a previous game but he decides that he would play through his ankle sprain.
"I've played through injuries all my life. Sprained ankle, I'll play. I broke my fingers, I'll play" which he says while talking about his injury. The team suggests that Gelo go see a doctor but he tells his father that he doesn't need to and shows he can play by running in practice.
While BC Vytautas plays in the LKL (Lietuvos Krepsinio Lyga), since Melo and Gelo came along, they created the BBB challenge which helps develop Melo and Gelo as basketball players by playing teams that aren't as good as teams in the LKL.
For the last and final BBB challenge game, LaVar gets to be the Head Coach of the team. Gelo mentions that his ankle is still sore but since he plays through injuries, he plays and he is in the starting lineup along with Melo.
After the first half, BC Vytautas is up by two points but it is a rough first half for Gelo as he misses most of his shots.
"Gelo is looking slow, sluggish... being lazy and missing a lot of shots" is how LaVar talks about Gelo playing. When they come in the locker room after the first half, Gelo is seen lying down because his stomach is bugging him and he is later seen going to the washroom to throw up. Gelo returns for the second half but it doesn't look any better for him as he is seen still missing a lot of shots, including easy ones. Due to his poor performance, LaVar pulls Gelo off and Gelo is seen running to the locker room as his stomach is still bothering him. LaVar's head coaching debut leads BC Vytautas to a victory with the score being 151-120.
In the car ride on the way back, LaVar talks about the game and how his sons did.
LaVar mentions that Gelo was 11 for 32 in shots meaning he missed 21 shots. Melo had 11 rebounds, 10 assists and took more shots than Gelo but missed less.
G3LUXE
Before Lonzo Ball was heading for the NBA, sport apparel companies like Nike, Adidas, and other companies made offers to Lonzo to have his own signature shoe produced by the company that he would sign with. He turned down all offers he received and had his own signature shoe created by Big Baller Brand which is the company that his father owns and found. They called his signature black and gold shoe "ZO2." Melo became the youngest person to ever have his own signature shoe which is also produced by Big Baller Brand and is called "MB1.
" It comes in the colors of red and grey.
Melo having his own signature shoe cost him his full scholarship to UCLA which he committed to at the age of 13 because the NCAA prohibits college athletes from advertising with companies. Due to that rule, Gelo didn't have his own signature shoe because he was at UCLA until he got pulled out of school by his father over his arrest.
Gelo is seen with LaVar and Alan, LaVar's business partner working on Gelo's signature shoe which will be called "G3LUXE" which will be in the colors of blue and white.
Next episode
After all ''Ball In The Family'' episodes, they show a preview of what's going to be in the next episode. In episode 19 which can be seen next Sunday on Facebook Watch, the Ball family is seen at the pool with LaVar having a hard time getting in due to the water being so cold.
LaVar and the head coach of BC Vytautas Virginijus Seskus, are seen in the sauna trying to make things work between him and LaVar since their playing styles are different. Since a lot of the players on BC Vytautas are injured, LaVar says "He gotta be foolish if he don't start y'all two," referring to his sons and that coach Seskus should be starting them. The next game, Gelo and Melo aren't in the starting lineup which causes LaVar to mention that he can't "trust the coach no longer." The Ball family is caught off-guard by the news that Lonzo who is just 20 years old, is a father-to-be as his girlfriend Denise is pregnant with his child. You can watch the whole episode next Sunday on Facebook Watch.
