LiAngelo Ball and his 2 UCLA basketball teammates are finally back on U.S. soil after getting the green light to leave China ... one week after they were arrested for jacking sunglasses.
TMZ Sports has video of Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley leaving LAX moments ago following a 13-hour flight out of Shanghai ... the guys stay straight-faced and mostly silent as they're hit with a barrage of questions and camera flashes from reporters.
The players had been holed up at the Hyatt Hangzhou -- while some of the most powerful people in the world, from President Trump to President Xi to Jack Ma, worked on their release.
Chinese officials reportedly dropped the shoplifting charges on Tuesday and allowed the guys to return home. UCLA says the school will launch its own investigation to decide whether or not to discipline the players.
Been a hell of a week. And with reports saying they could've faced 10 years in Chinese prison, guessing they're all gonna sleep pretty well tonight.