LiAngelo Ball has revealed the motivation behind his decision to quit the basketball G League for rap, and says he was not making much money from the professional league.
“I was in the G-League, that’s 3K a month as a grown man, I was getting mine and throwing it right when you touch 3K that don’t help nothing,” he said on the BagFuel podcast.
Gelo explains why he quit basketball for rap: “I was in the G League, that’s $3K a month”
pic.twitter.com/GspMlXXB8h— My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) August 6, 2025
He said as soon as he got his first check from rap, the decision was a no-brainer.
“When I got paid from music it wasn’t a hard decision, Like I wasn’t contemplating like ‘Damn I gotta hoop,”” Ball said.
The youngest of the Ball brothers made a splash with his debut single “Tweaker,” which went viral almost overnight. Gelo quickly inked a record deal with Def Jam and Universal Music Group reportedly worth up to $13 million, with $8 million guaranteed, all while maintaining full ownership of his masters and his label, Born2Ball Music Group.
This year, he made it onto the 2025 XXL Freshman list.