A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earning consensus first-team All-American honors before the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the second overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft.

[14] By the end of his senior year, Ball was rated as a consensus five-star recruit in the 2016 high school class.

[18][19] In November 2015, he signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and play for the Bruins.

[22] Ball's vision and passing skills led UCLA's rise up the national rankings,[23] as he and fellow freshman T. J.

[24][25] Ball led the nation in assists and transformed the Bruins into the top scoring offense in the country.

Later in the year, Ball was named the MVP of the Wooden Legacy tournament, after he led UCLA to a win over Texas A&M in the championship game.

[26][44][48] He was also voted Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, named first-team All-Pac-12 along with teammates Leaf and Bryce Alford, and received honorable mention for the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

[68] Ball was selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend, but withdrew because of the injury.

[75] During the offseason, the Lakers signed the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James, which shifted the spotlight away from Ball.

A week before camp, Lakers coach Luke Walton stated that Ball would be eased back and not participate in full-contact practices initially.

[72] Ball's added bulk made him better on defense,[3] and he became one of the Lakers' most dynamic defenders during the season as he picked up point guards full-court to create turnovers in the backcourt.

[73] On January 19, 2019, he had a career-high seven assists in a quarter to help the Lakers build a 13-point lead over the Houston Rockets after the first period.

[58] In the third quarter, he collided with the Rockets' James Ennis III and suffered a Grade 3 left ankle sprain, which included a torn ligament.

[80] Since Walton called him out for being passive after a 108–86 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he had been averaging 13 points, 6.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists with nearly two steals over seven games before the injury.

[86] Ball made his debut for the Pelicans on October 22, registering eight points, five rebounds, and five assists in a 130–122 overtime loss to the defending champion Toronto Raptors.

[87] On December 29, he hit a then career-high seven three-pointers, and scored a season-high 27 points, to go with 10 rebounds, and eight assists in a 127–112 win over the Rockets.

[88] On January 18, 2020, he recorded his first triple-double of the season with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 133–130 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

[90] He also made seven three-pointers the following day, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in a 127–123 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

[95] On April 5, Ball set a new career-high eight three-pointers, while matching his season-high 27 points and registering nine assists in a 122–115 win over the Rockets.

In his new role, his assist average dropped to 5.7 per game, near the level he posted while playing alongside LeBron James with the Lakers.

[94] New Orleans had power forward Zion Williamson initiate plays off the dribble and handle the ball in transition.

[94] On August 8, 2021, Ball was traded to the Chicago Bulls in a sign-and-trade deal, with the Pelicans receiving Tomáš Satoranský, Garrett Temple and draft picks.

[101] On October 20, Ball made his Bulls debut, putting up 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists in a 94–88 win over the Detroit Pistons.

[109][110] On February 21, 2023, the Bulls announced that he would be out for the remainder of the season due to recurring discomfort during participation in basketball activities.

[108] In December, Chicago head coach Billy Donovan said that Ball was expected to start running in January 2024.

[117] On October 23, Ball made his regular season return in the Bulls' season-opening game, putting up five points, two rebounds, and four assists in 14 minutes played in a 123–111 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

[134] The $495 price tag on the shoe sparked wide criticism from celebrities and on social media, in regard to its potential quality in comparison to competing brands such as Nike and Adidas as well as Ball's lack of star power.

In addition, the Lakers showed concerns for the quality of BBB's shoes – believing it was a potential factor in his ankle injuries.

Shortly afterward, Ball stripped references to BBB from his social media pages, changed his avatar to a childhood photo of himself wearing a Nike-branded T-shirt, permanently covered up his BBB tattoo, and posted a photograph of himself on Instagram with the caption "Moving on to bigger and better #MyOwnMan" [sic].

[84][139] Ball and his family have also mentioned the idea of folding the Big Baller Brand altogether in the aftermath of Alan Foster's firing.