LaMelo Ball Praised by Ex-Rockets PG Aaron Brooks Ahead of 2020 NBA Draft

Aaron Brooks had low expectations for LaMelo Ball when he joined the top prospect with the Illawarra Hawks in Australia's National Basketball League, but the potential 2020 No. 1 NBA draft pick proved himself to Brooks over the course of the year.

The 10-year NBA veteran explained his mindset playing alongside Ball to TMZ Sports.

"I come from the old school of being with Dikembe Mutombo and Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, and now I'm playing with an 18-year-old Kardashian kid. ... What surprised me was he was just a real cool kid," Brooks said.

He noted Ball was willing to put in extra work or do running alongside the rest of the team.

Brooks played with seven NBA teams, averaging 19.6 points per game at his best in 2009-10 with the Houston Rockets. He was last seen in the league in 2017-18 before joining the NBL this past season, averaging 17.9 points in seven appearances.

Still, the biggest star for Illawarra was Ball, who has been a household name for basketball fans since he was a freshman in high school.

Not only is he the younger brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, but he has also built his own following with more than 5 million followers on Instagram. He has lived up to the hype on the court too—Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman listed him as the No. 1 player in the 2020 class.

He averaged 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 12 games before a foot injury ended his season.

Despite Ball's obvious talent, Brooks indicated he remained modest.

"At 18, when I say there's guys that get drafted, got drafted in Houston and they was rookies and was 21 and had less accolades than him and they was bigger assh--es ... for him to be the way he was was surprising to me," Brooks said.