LaVar Ball and his sons arrived in Lithuania and caused a media storm

AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis

• Brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball, and their father, LaVar Ball, were met by a chaotic media scene when the family landed in Lithuania.
• Their greeting party including tons of media members, as well as a musician singing “Welcome to Lithuania.”
• The Ball brothers are expected to make their debut with Prienu Vytautas on January 9.

The Big Baller Brand has officially gone international.

On Wednesday, Lonzo Ball’s younger brothers, LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball, landed in Lithuania along with family patriarch LaVar Ball to begin their careers as professional basketball players with their new team, Prienu Vytautas.

As the Ball family deplaned, the media presence was likely the largest seen in Prienu Vytautas franchise history.

There was even a local musician awaiting their arrival, with singer Jurgis Didziulis greeting the Ball’s with an emphatic rendition of “Welcome to Lithuania” as they made it into the airport.

ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, who was in Lithuania to watch the scene unfold, described the Ball’s arrival as “insane,” adding “Photographers equipment spilled to the ground, media members falling down. One media person asked me if it was LeBron or Michael Jordan coming? I just laughed.”

The Ball brothers committed to joining the team after an employee reached out to their agent via Twitter direct message. With LiAngelo having dropped out of UCLA and LaMelo then playing solely for his AAU team, LaVar decided that it was time to send the family into the world of European basketball, although he still plans to attempt to bring the boys back to the states to play for the Lakers when the time is right.

Currently, Prienu Vytautas is placed ninth among the 10 teams playing in the LKL, and fourth in their group in the Baltic Basketball League. The Ball brothers are expected to make their team debut January 9 against Tsmoki-Minsk.