From a physical standpoint, athletes good enough to compete in the NBA are relatively easy to find. The thing that sets apart that who can make the league and those who can’t – and to a greater extent the average players from the best – is a high basketball IQ.
Having the physical capability to play in the NBA is one thing but a level of high IQ is also required. Fortunately for the Ball family, LaMelo Ball has shown a basketball IQ that is not only good enough to play in the league but good enough to potentially be one of the smartest players in the league.
Former Spire Institute head coach and now personal trainer Jermaine Jackson talked recently in an interview with SLAM magazine about LaMelo’s high IQ and his desire to learn.
If their journey overseas is anything like their current living situation, there’s a solid chance nights of interrupted sleep will be the norm for Jackson, a six-year pro in the NBA. Most of their conversations center around what life is like in the League, a point of borderline obsession for LaMelo.
“We talk about that shit at 4, 5 o’clock in the morning almost every other day,” says Jackson. “He’s always picking my brain: What is this? What is that? Who did this? How many plays did you run?
“You got a lot of 17-year-old kids that don’t do that. [He has a] very high IQ. You tell him things one time.”
While the LaVar Ball hasn’t delved too deep into his tactics but both Lonzo and now LaMelo have developed into point guards with tremendous IQ. The difference, noted in the quote, between guys like Lonzo and LaMelo and even those who have a high IQ is the desire to learn more.
Lonzo has demonstrated a desire to continue to learn and these are some of the first quotes of LaMelo displaying the same type of attitude. Never being complacent is an easy phrase to mutter but a hard rule to live by. These two, though, are destined to become great players because of their desire to always improve.
