USA TODAY International Edition
LaVar Ball is about to get even louder
Father’s profile could grow if son is Laker
Now, you have to wonder.
Maybe LaVar Ball would have beaten Michael Jordan one- on- one when Ball was in his prime.
Maybe Lonzo Ball is better than Stephen Curry.
And maybe Nike, Adidas or Under Armour, if they had vision, should give LaVar Ball $ 1 billion in exchange for an endorsement deal with Ball’s three sons — Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo.
All of LaVar’s heretofore absurd demands and statements — including that Lonzo would end up with the Los Angeles Lakers — no longer look so absurd after the Lakers secured the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft and a likely chance to draft Lonzo.
Of course, LaVar Ball celebrat- ed with customary modesty.
“I know I must be a genius to plan it this well,” he told the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles on Tuesday after the draft lottery.
“Genius” is not the word most people have used to describe LaVar Ball, the human bullhorn who has exchanged insults with Charles Barkley, his sons’ sincefired high school basketball coach and anybody else who fires insults his way.
His latest target was Kristine Leahy, co- host of Fox Sports 1’ s
The Herd, who was fending off Ball during Wednesday’s show when the topic of Lonzo’s $ 495 shoe was raised. LaVar told Leahy to “stay in your lane” when asked how sales were going.
Of course, charging $ 495 for the shoe only reinforced LaVar’s reputation as a laughingstock. But for anybody who thought he was nothing but a fool, the joke could be on you.
Playing for the Lakers, Lonzo would have a chance to restore glory to the Lakers and, with his ever- present father in the stands, turn the family’s Big Baller Brand into a very big business.
Of which LaVar now has the right to crow.
So if you’re tired of hearing about the biggest mouth in basketball, we suggest you silence all of your electronic devices. Because after Tuesday night, it’s going to be impossible to silence LaVar Ball.