League News: LaMelo Ball Starts Scholarship Program

The Hornets guard is not waiting to give back.

© Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports

At just 20-years-old, LaMelo Ball will be paying for the education of someone approximately his own age. The 2021 NBA Rookie of the Year shared his plans with TMZ Sports earlier today.

Ball will reward one four-year scholarship to Long Island University's Roc Nation School of Music, Sports and Entertainment for the 2021-22 academic year to a sports management or communication/marketing major. 

To qualify for the highly competitive scholarship, students must score at least 1,100 on the SAT or 22 on the ACT. Additionally, they must complete an essay about where they see themselves in 10 years and how the LaMelo Scholarship can help them achieve that goal. 

Ball told TMZ Sports "I want to encourage the next generation of sports executives and leaders to follow their dreams just like I did to make it to the NBA. I'm fortunate to have the means and public platform to support others, so I want to do my part and create a lane for a student to get a strong education and be in position to make a meaningful impact in the sports industry."

The youngest Ball Brother skipped college and played professional basketball in Lithuania and Australia before being selected with the third overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2020 NBA Draft. Earlier this summer, Ball made headlines when he joked about the importance of school in an interview with GQ before later clearing it up on his Instagram account.

This is not the first time Ball has practiced philanthropy. While in Australia, he donated one month of his salary to wildfire relief efforts. The young phenom is about to kick off his second NBA season with his first signature shoe from Puma on his feet. Clearly, Ball is thinking bigger than just basketball.

Recommended For You

Scouting Hawks Southeast Division Opponents

Five Funniest Moments from Hawks Media Day

Kyrie Irving's Drama Reshapes Eastern Conference Playoff Picture

---

Like SI Hawks on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Hawks news!