To Live And Rhyme In LA

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Inside an LA recording studio, 20-year-old Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, would-be franchise savior by both day and night, and rapper when he’s got a minute, goads me to his microphone and hands me his lyrics. “You got this,” Ball says. There’s one problem, though. “We gotta move the mic way down,” quips the 6-foot-6 point guard as he adjusts the mic to its lowest point—at my hair. 

“Anybody got a stepping stool?” he asks. 

And with that, the No. 2 overall pick let me into his creative sanctuary—where he recorded Born 2 Ball via his own Big Baller Music Group—for a chat about his music, his incoming baby and a promising young squad that has some Lakers fans imagining a bright future, with or without a certain proven franchise savior from Ohio.

ESPN: I’m no Pharrell, but you got skills for a rookie rapper. What sparked this? 

BALL: I used to write for fun all the time, even when I was little, but I took it seriously for the first time this year. It’s a way of expressing myself. My life revolves around basketball, but in here, there’s freedom. You can say whatever you want—there’s no restrictions. You can just release. It’s therapeutic.

You ever chat up the music titans sitting courtside, like, “Can you listen to my stuff and hit me back?” 

[Laughs] I never have, but Migos was at the game in Atlanta, and they said they were fans of my songs. 

Is it true that Lithuania will host your first concert?