Category: LaVar Ball

LaVar Ball says Lonzo Ball can’t stay in New Orleans, wants to be traded

Despite Lonzo Ball giving quotes indicating otherwise, LaVar claimed in a radio interview on Thursday that his son wants out of New Orleans.

After a prolonged silence with two of his sons playing exceedingly well in the NBA, LaVar Ball has re-emerged with a bombshell…kind of.

In an interview with ESPN LA on Thursday, LaVar claimed that Lonzo Ball wants out of New Orleans ahead of the March 25 trade deadline (h/t Andrew Joseph/ForTheWin).

“No! No, he can’t stay in New Orleans. Come on, man. Come on, listen. … Lonzo’s always been a playmaker. Why are you trying to change him into a defensive specialist that stays in the corner and shoots 3s? And you’re trying to change Zion and Brandon Ingram who, all through their careers, have never been playmakers. Scorers! Now you want to put the ball in their hands and be playmakers?! … Go score the ball and do what you do and guess what? They’re gonna have a hard time trying to win every game if the playmaker ain’t making the right plays.”

The caveat with LaVar at this point is that it has been a long time since he’s spoken on behalf of his two sons. Memorably, LaMelo took a hard stance against his dad during the predraft process, distancing himself from his father’s opinions.

Lonzo has not taken that stance publicly – yet – but has spoken about being in New Orleans in the future in quotes that directly contradict LaVar. Prior to the All-Star break, Ball stated that he wanted to be apart of the future with the Pelicans alongside Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

“I love playing with those guys, and I’m also really cool with them off the floor as well. We’re all young. I think we can do some big things, especially in the future coming up.”

In reality, LaVar’s quotes from Thursday likely are how he feels about Lonzo’s situation. It ultimately likely won’t matter anyway as reports have indicated the Pelicans are focused on keeping Ball at least through the trade deadline and into restricted free agency.

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WATCH: Kenan Thompson revives LaVar Ball character on SNL, jokes about LaMelo Ball and Hornets

On Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, Kenan Thompson returned as his LaVar Ball character to discuss COVID-19, LaMelo and Big Baller Brand.

This weekend’s Saturday Night Live featured the return of a memorable character on Weekend Update in LaVar Ball, played by Kenan Thompson. It had been over a year-and-a-half since Ball appeared on SNL and the return was long overdue.

With both LaMelo and Lonzo thriving, the former the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, there was plenty of content for Thompson’s LaVar character to discuss.

Before he discussed either of his sons, Ball made jokes about having all the COVID vaccines available plus his own home remedy, LaVartrex. Then, they jumped into “the most storied franchise in all of basketball,” the Charlotte Hornets and LaMelo.

LaVar declared that LaMelo not only had Rookie of the Year locked up, but also MVP and “prettiest hog at the Mecklenburg County Fair” as well. After LaMelo wins all the awards, LaVar also noted he would unite both North and South Carolina into “Carolosaus.”

He also debuted Big Baller Brand’s newest shoe, the CaraMelos. On top of being an entirely chocolate shoe, each pair of CaraMelos includes caramel inside the shoe as well as Alexa. In line with the exorborant prices on Big Baller Brand’s website, the shoes cost $2000 with a 7-month waitlist and available only between the hours of 3-6 p.m. Mountain Time.

It’s a hilarious revival of the character and hopefully one that makes multiple more appearances as the Ball brothers continue to flourish in the NBA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTTwNPB64PA

LaVar Ball claims LaMelo is secretly unhappy about bench role with Hornets

Following a fourth-quarter benching of LaMelo on Friday, LaVar Ball claims his youngest son is unhappy with his role on the Hornets.

LaMelo Ball has had a new role with the Charlotte Hornets this season by coming off the bench. With his short stint in Lithuania set aside, Ball has never come off the bench dating back to his time in Chino Hills.

Ball has not shown any sign of discontent with his role this season. However, in an interview with TMZ on Saturday, LaVar Ball claimed his youngest son is unhappy as a non-starter.

“…He ain’t happy with that but he ain’t going to show that. If I train you to be the best and you’ve been starting all your life, here’s what they don’t get, my boys are not freaking role players. They’re superstars. Let them do what they do. But if your mentality ain’t like that, guess what, it’s hard to coach my boys and tap into the best because you don’t have a killer mindset.”

This season, LaMelo is averaging 24.6 minutes per game and has played in every game. He’s also averaging 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists. He’s found success in various ways, including being the youngest player with a triple-double in league history.

Ball has not publicly stated or shown any unhappiness with his role. In the past, he’s also spoken about not holding the same opinions as his father. During the NBA Draft Combine, LaMelo noted that he has his own views separate from LaVar after his father claimed LaMelo did not want to go to the Warriors in the draft.

It’s also interesting, though, that this comes immediately after Ball was benched in the fourth quarter against the Bulls on Friday. The move came after Ball struggled, committing five turnovers for the second time in three games.

Even with that in mind, given what teammates have said about LaMelo even in the last week, it’s hard to put much weight into LaVar’s words.

LaVar Ball criticizes James Borrego, calls for LaMelo Ball to be starting for Hornets

Despite his hot start and strong play to start the season, LaVar Ball has called for LaMelo Ball to be starting for the Charlotte Hornets.

While many around America took in the spectacle that was Lonzo vs. LaMelo on Friday, LaVar Ball was focused on one specific, predictable aspect of the game.

It wasn’t that his two sons were finally squaring off for the first time ever. Or that both had established roles with their respective teams. Or even that LaMelo nearly had a triple-double in a comeback win for the Hornets.

It was that LaMelo wasn’t starting.

A big fan of the starting label, LaVar ignored how well his youngest son had been playing and went straight to criticizing head coach James Borrego in a piece with Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports.

“Tell me, have you ever seen a marquee guy, a marquee guy that you promoting in all of this ‘brothers going up against each other’ and he don’t start? I never seen that before in my life. That’s like telling Michael Jackson, ‘Hey man, you coming on second.'”

Despite the interview coming moments AFTER the exciting game, Ball had little mention of how well LaMelo had played and only focused on how his sons weren’t being used correctly by either Hornets coach James Borrego or Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy.

“As they say when you get to the NBA, the speed of the game changes. Well, my boys is the only ones who got to slow down when they get to the NBA.

…

“Their performances, it’s not going to be up to my standard on the fact that they’re not playing the style I taught them, which is that up-and-down pace, getting that ball in and out and just playing balls out. You can’t do that with these guys [their teammates]. These guys don’t have the confidence in that.”

After a weekend in which he nearly notched a triple-double on Friday and did make history as the youngest player to do so on Saturday, LaMelo is averaging 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 43.5% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point territory.

Most importantly, Ball is averaging 24.9 minutes per game. After the opening two games in which Ball was brought along slowly after a scoreless debut, he is averaging 27.2 minutes per contest in the last eight games. In recent contests, he’s also closing games with the Hornets.

LaMelo has established himself in the Hornets rotation, the team is winning and he’s excelling. No starter label, or Michael Jackson comparison, is necessary.

WATCH: LaVar Ball, Big Baller Brand announce racing collection with hilarious video

Big Baller Brand announced their new Racing Collection on Instagram with a hilarious video featuring LaVar Ball himself.

Big Baller Brand vowed to head into a new direction with Lonzo and LaMelo Ball leaving the brand, and LaVar Ball certainly has done so. Over the weekend, LaVar Ball and Big Baller Brand announced an entirely different venture in the Big Baller Brand Racing collection.

To announce the new products, Ball posted a hilarious video to the Big Baller Brand Instagram account. In the video, Ball in a pickup truck is waiting at a stoplight when a Mustang pulls up alongside him, also driven by Ball.

After some trash talk and engine revving between the two Balls, a Suzuki motorcycle pulls up also driven by Ball, shockingly. The Ball on the motorcycle is sporting the new Big Baller Brand racing collection as he eventually races away.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJPFWoMnJV9/

The new products are available on the Big Baller Brand online store and, fittingly, are wildly overpriced. The Big Baller Brand leather biker jacket comes in at a staggering $850. The Big Baller Brand motorcycle gloves, meanwhile, run at $350.

Kelly Oubre Jr.’s father on starting own brand: ‘I’m no LaVar Ball’

In starting his own brand, Beast Development, Kelly Oubre Sr. wants to keep expectations in check for the company’s success.

As controversial a figure as he may be, LaVar Ball will always have the label of pioneer after creating his own brand and building it up to global prominence. For many, he’s served as motivation, including Master P, in starting their own brands from the ground up.

Kelly Oubre Sr., is the latest to cite Ball as an example for starting his own business. However, while Ball is an example, he is not someone Oubre is attempting to replicate.

In a piece with NBC Bay Area, he discussed starting his own brand and not wanting to come across as LaVar Ball 2.0.

“We all know of the Ball family, and I commend Mr. Ball. I’m not Mr. Ball. And I never tried to be, because I realize that I have one Kelly and I love my son with all my heart. So, I didn’t want to give the impression, because it’s just not my personality, that I was trying to seek the limelight or seek attention, especially if it was at his expense.”

“Don’t get me wrong. And, please, don’t think I’m knocking Mr. Ball and his methods. But as a dad, you know, where is the blueprint here? There is none.”

Oubre Sr. stated he waited to launch his company, Beast Development, in order to not shine in his son’s light. Contrasted to Ball, who seemed to cash in on his sons at the earliest imaginable chance and it’s certainly very different approaches.

Beast Development, like Big Baller Brand, is a clothing brand. Becoming as successful as Big Baller Brand was will be a tough task for any brand, let alone a new start-up brand.

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Kevin Durant offers praise to Ball family, LaVar Ball’s parenting

On his latest podcast, Kevin Durant praised LaVar Ball’s parenting after all three of his sons reached the NBA in recent months.

LaVar Ball has taken plenty of criticism, often warranted and occasionally unjust, for his parenting and how he raised his three sons. For as much objection as Ball has received for his loud, bold, bombastic personality that rarely takes into account the norm for how parents of standout athletes typically act, Ball has also been right.

On top of LaMelo being drafted with the No. 3 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, LiAngelo Ball’s signing with the Detroit Pistons on an Exhibit 10 contract meant all three of his sons had secured an NBA contract, proving much of LaVar’s confidence of the years as warranted.

Interestingly, one of LaVar and the family’s longest supporters has been Kevin Durant. Over the years, Durant has been a fan of Lonzo and spoken on how many kids and athletes wish they had a parent like LaVar.

On Thursday, Durant welcomed LaVar onto his podcast, The ETCs, for a chance to offer him some praise for how he raised his kids to his (virtual) face.

“Most definitely. I mean, you see so many different players and you see, you know, you hear the statistics about how hard it is to get to the NBA. And, you know, you got somebody that’s training you, that’s got knowledge on the game, know the history of the game, and constantly teaching you, you know, how to play this game, how to navigate in the life. I mean, you can only succeed no matter if you’re gonna make it to the top level of the NBA or you can be, you know, in the G league or overseas. You’re going to make some money in this game if you focus in and lock in and got somebody in your corner. So, I would I would say that’s one of the most important things, you know what I mean.”

Durant was also certain to give credit to each of the three Ball brothers for turning their raw skills into talent.

“But for for LaMelo and Gelo and Lonzo, like, they had natural talent, too, you know what I’m saying. Like, those kids, you could tell that they play, you know, they love the game and they play all day every day. Not just organized ball but with they friends outdoors dribbling a rock. I could tell that they was just students and just love to hoop.”

It wasn’t all compliments and niceties on the podcast between the two. Later on in the episode, Durant and LaVar had a back-and-forth based on the former’s belief that pressing opponents in the NBA would be a successful strategy.

LaVar Ball, Kevin Durant get in heated exchange on The ETCs podcast

LaVar Ball appeared on Kevin Durant’s podcast, The ETCs, and had a back-and-forth debate with the Nets forward about pressing in the NBA.

While LaVar Ball is ever willing to appear on effectively any podcast or network television show, his appearance on Thursday’s episode of The ETCs with Kevin Durant was certainly a different type of interview than normal for the Big Baller.

Ball, Durant and co-host Eddie Gonzalez talked for the better part of an hour about a number of topics, ranging from Ball’s parenting of his sons at a young age that led to all three of them becoming NBA players to Big Baller Brand. The most interesting segment of the podcast, though, came on a back-and-forth between Ball and Durant.

To provide some context to the exchange, Ball has been a believer that pressing a team defensively and trying to simply outscore them is the best way to play. It’s the system Chino Hills used when his three sons played together and finished undefeated and it’s the system Ball used in the JBA for both LaMelo and LiAngelo.

It’s also a system Ball said he would use if he coached an NBA team. Typically someone who doesn’t have his exorbitant claims pushed back upon, Ball saw Durant dispute the notion that pressing in the NBA would be an effective strategy, leading to a debate between the two. Though it never appeared to be more than a friendly debate, neither side would budge on their stance.

Durant: “I don’t think you can press in the league.”
Ball: “Nobody does unless I get up there and coach and I’ll show you.”
Durant: “You can’t.”
Ball: “Don’t tell me what I can’t do.”
Durant: “You know the athleticism is a little bit different.”
Ball: “I don’t care. You can be the most athletic sucker in the world. If you ain’t got no wind, I’m going to tear your [expletive] up. Somebody going to get tired.”
Durant: “You’re not pressing no starting point guard in the league right now.”
Ball: “[Expletive], I’ll double his [expletive] every time. If I leave somebody open, I don’t care. We going to see.”
Durant: “I don’t believe that’s happening.”
Ball: “I’ll overplay, you’re going to have to throw that ball, I guarantee. You know why they don’t press? Because that’s the word. See, you’re putting it out there, too. ‘Can’t press, point guard’s too good.’ Yeah, you might get through 20 times but we going to see what you’ll do the other 40 times.”
Durant: “[laughs] That will never happen. If that happens, you’ll get fired within the first few months.”

The exchange occurred in the middle of the podcast and the conversation went on without any ill feelings, further indicating neither side was made at the debate. Both said plenty of nice things about the other at the end of the podcast as well.

While Ball’s style worked in high school and it has had success in college in the right scenarios and situations, as Durant said, there is no chance it would work in the NBA. Also, despite all of Ball’s accomplishments as a father and businessman, Durant is the one who has not only played in the league but is one of the greatest players of his generation.

LaVar Ball calls Detroit Pistons ‘raggedy as hell’ after waiving LiAngelo Ball

LaVar Ball lashed out at the Detroit Pistons on Monday, less than 24 hours after the franchise waived his son LiAngelo Ball.

Less than 24 hours after LiAngelo Ball was waived by the Detroit Pistons, LaVar Ball sounded off on the organization. In a Bleacher Report Q&A with fans on the site’s mobile app, LaVar was asked about his thoughts on LiAngelo being waived. LaVar kept it cordial with the Detroit fans while going in on the Pistons organization.

The people in Detroit are great. I love the fans, but the franchise over there is raggedy as hell. They don’t know a good player. I was giving them a lottery pick for free! (LiAngelo) has the skills to play and the notoriety to bring everybody to the game. How do you throw that out hte window? They’re gonna learn the hard way. My boys are gonna end up together playing somewhere. Gelo can shoot the lights out. That was raggedy what they ddi. But hey, they’re gonna learn the hard way.

LiAngelo being waived was a move that should have come with little surprise. His Exhibit 10 contract served as little more than a training camp invite with an added financial incentive to sign with the Pistons’ G League franchise.

That doesn’t make LaVar’s comments any the less surprising. Ever the fan of burning bridges on his way out, LaVar has lashed out at teams that have released or traded his sons in the past, though not always with great success.

LaVar Ball says he is the luckiest man in the world after all three sons make the NBA

After placing all three of his sons in the NBA, LaVar Ball considers himself to be the ‘luckiest man in the world.’

LaVar Ball talked a big game many years ago when he vowed to put each of his sons in the NBA, and he took much flack for his bombastic claim. This offseason, his proclamations became reality when LaMelo was drafted No. 3 overall to the Hornets and LiAngelo was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pistons.

With an “I Told You So” hat on his head, LaVar spoke to ABC 11 out of Durham, North Carolina, about how he’s feeling now that he was proven right.

“I’m having a great time. I hate to tell people I’m so good, but I’m also the luckiest man in the world. That’s just me and I’m having a great time, so I don’t have to sit back and be like ‘Wow, this is awesome.’ I knew it was awesome. The journey is awesome so it’s a beautiful thing.”

Ball also was asked if he felt pride seeing each of his sons enter training camp with an NBA team this offseason. Ball peeled back the character of the Big Baller and offered a more thoughtful answer.

“I’ve always been proud of my boys. It’s never wavered or never changed. Ever since they came out of their mama, I’ve been proud of them. It’s not for me to be, all of the sudden, a few years go by and ‘oh there’s a proud moment.’ Every moment I have with my boys is a proud moment for me.”

It’s rare for a father to place two sons in the NBA, let alone a trio of brothers. Last season, the three Holiday brothers made history by playing in the same game when the Pelicans traveled to face the Pacers and New Orleans’ Jrue Holiday played against Indiana’s Aaron and Justin Holiday.

That moment will not happen this year for the Ball brothers barring a transaction of some sort, but that doesn’t make the accomplishment any less impressive.