Three of Tina Ball’s children have been in and around the NBA, albeit with varying degrees of success. 

Lonzo Ball, the oldest of the three siblings, debuted for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017 and has since suited up for both the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls. LiAngelo Ball, the middle of the three, has been under contract with the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets but has never appeared in a regular-season contest. LaMelo Ball, the youngest and most promising talent, joined the Association as the No. 3 overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, earned 2020-21 Rookie of the Year honors, and made an All-Star squad with the Hornets.

The Ball family is entrenched in the basketball landscape for quite some time, and it all started with Tina’s collegiate career.

Tina Ball played basketball in college

Tina Ball, born to Robert and Catherine Slatinsky in Miami, Florida, on Dec. 11, 1967, was a standout basketball player in high school. She attended Alta Loma High School in California and lettered for four years. During her senior year, she was an All-Baseline League selection who averaged 15.8 points and 18.2 rebounds. After her high school career, she attended California State University, Los Angeles.

She spent four years in college and put together an impressive career. Ball averaged double-digit points during her sophomore (12.6) and junior (13.2) seasons and finished her career averaging 9.4 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Tina also met LaVar Ball during those collegiate days. The two went on to get married and have three children: Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo.

The family matriarch also spent 24 years as the athletic director at Vernon Middle School in Montclair, California, and has since played a significant role in the family-owned brand: Big Baller Brand. In addition to providing support for her three sons, who are the faces of the brand, she has served as a designer and co-founder.

Tina Ball had a stroke in 2017

Tina suffered a stroke in February 2017 and received support from her husband and children throughout her recovery.

“Everybody sees my dad in the media, so everybody thinks he has a big role. Obviously he does in the family,” Lonzo Ball said in a 2019 interview on “The Woj Pod” with Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t USA Today). “But my mom is kind of the person who held everything together. If you ask anybody in the family, that’s the only person my dad would listen to, honestly.”

“Obviously, it’s a long journey with her,” he continued. “The whole time we know she’s strong, but it’s tough just being with her the last couple years and seeing everything she has to go through. Especially with us being in the media all the time.”

Tina still has aphasia, which makes it difficult for her to retrieve words and speak. But thanks to the support of her family and the help of doctors, she has slowly regained her speech abilities since the 2017 event.