Beyond the Flag
Fansided

Indy 500: 10 non-racing driver athletes who should race in the Indianapolis 500

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Drivers pull away from the grid ahead of the start of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Drivers pull away from the grid ahead of the start of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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PRIENAI, LITHUANIA – JANUARY 09: LaMelo Ball of Vytautas Prienai (Photo by Alius Koroliovas/Getty Images)
PRIENAI, LITHUANIA – JANUARY 09: LaMelo Ball of Vytautas Prienai (Photo by Alius Koroliovas/Getty Images) /

LaMelo Ball

Vytautas Prienai–Birstonas. LAMELO BALL. 16. . No. 1, Point Guard

LaMelo Ball, 16, is a former point guard for Vytautas Prienai–Birstonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League. At 16 years old, he is the youngest athlete in this article by far.

Ball was part of the Chino Hills High School Class of 2019 when he declared that he would be playing his college basketball at UCLA for the Bruins like his oldest brother Lonzo did and older brother LiAngelo was set to do starting this past season.

However, his father LaVar, the outspoken businessman who used his platform to make attention-seeking absurd claim after attention-seeking absurd claim during Lonzo’s college career last year just to boost his business, Big Baller Brand, decided to take LaMelo out of school and homeschool him.

Shortly thereafter, LiAngelo was arrested in China for shoplifting sunglasses when UCLA was over there to open up the 2017-2018 NCAA basketball season. He was suspended at UCLA and ended up leaving the team as a result of it.

He and LaMelo then went overseas to Lithuania to play for Vytautas Prienai–Birstonas, thus making LaMelo officially ineligible to play for UCLA since he is now considered a professional. But in typical LaVar fashion, LaVar has since pulled them from the team after a dispute with a coach.

There is no doubt that if LaMelo Ball were to drive in the Indy 500, his car would be sponsored by Big Baller Brand, and LaVar Ball would be in his pit box trying to figure out race strategy similar to the way he mastered his marketing strategy. This whole scenario would draw serious attention from sports fans everywhere.

Ball is 6’3″ and weighs 165 pounds, so while he would be taller than the average IndyCar driver, he would not have an issue fitting into a car.