As LiAngelo Ball prepared for the NBA draft earlier this summer, the consensus amongst NBA experts was that the middle Ball brother had no chance at getting drafted. Yet, LaVar Ball and LiAngelo were convinced — at least publicly — that he was going to end up hearing his name called.

At the time, that aura of confidence seemed like an act. Because, if it wasn’t, LiAngelo was being set up for a massive disappointment. It turned out, though, that both LiAngelo and LaVar were prepared for the tough news.

In the latest episode of Ball in the Family, their agent, Harrison Gaines, briefed both LiAngelo and LaVar of the slim possibility that LiAngelo had at getting drafted. They were looking at one pick — Phoenix at No. 59 — and that was it. Gaines then presented LiAngelo and LaVar with the option of withdrawing from the draft. The sequence starts at the 8:15 mark.

Gaines said:

“I wanted to talk to you about the draft. I’ve gone through and talked to all 30 teams, and I feel like, based on the feedback, the real, realistic shot at getting drafted is what I told you about — Phoenix at 59. Besides that, I think it’s gonna be tough. “I just wanted to see what you guys wanted to do? Whether you wanted to stay in, based on the feedback or how you wanted to do it.”

LaVar responded that waiting another year wouldn’t change the situation outside of aging LiAngelo. In that meeting, they decided to keep LiAngelo in the draft.

LiAngelo would offer his own explanation for the decision ahead of his Warriors workout:

“I chose to stay in and see what happens because at the end of the day, I’m 19 years old. If I don’t get picked, I’m just gonna take a different route. I feel confident going into the draft, so we’ll see.”

LiAngelo ended up tweaking his ankle in that Warriors workout and going undrafted — without an invitation to Summer League. He played the second half of the JBA season with LaMelo’s Los Angeles Ballers team.

But, at the very least, that interaction showed that someone around the Ball family — in this case, Gaines — was giving them realistic advice.