LaVar Ball has never been one to lack confidence whether talking about himself or about his family. And often, it leads to his outlandish statements of any nature.
His latest boast of confidence involved his eldest son Lonzo Ball and highly-publicized teammate Zion Williamson. When discussing Lonzo’s impact with the Pelicans on Complex’s Load Management podcast, LaVar ventured into unchartered waters by questioning the hype around Williamson and the true source of it.
“Take my boy out of the situation and see how much buzz you get. He would probably still be out for the season.”
Obviously, one needs to just look at what Williamson did at Duke to see how much hype he can create on his own. During his lone season as a Blue Devil, Williamson was the biggest attraction in the country and one of the biggest ever in college basketball.
This isn’t the first time Ball has taken shots, directly and indirectly, at Williamson. He once said LiAngelo, his lone son not in the NBA (or at least projected to be) could beat Williamson one-on-one. Even in the podcast itself, he said he could beat Williamson one-on-one, which also isn’t the first time he’s made that proclamation.
And yet, LaVar also insisted that he does not hold any beef or ill will toward Williamson despite stating virtually everyone in his family is a better basketball player, though he again propped up Williamson’s production on Lonzo’s game.
“You think I have something against Zion? I don’t have nothing against Zion. That’s a young kid, talented. That kid can play. But I’m telling you this. I don’t care how fast you can run and jump, if you ain’t got nobody that can get you the ball, guess what you’re doing? Running and jumping out there for nothing. Put another guard with him and see if you get that…Lonzo, he don’t care about the limelight.”
Considering how much publicity Williamson has brought to the Pelicans and his son Lonzo, one would think LaVar would have nothing but good things to say about the No. 1 pick. But, alas, any good things about him must simply be because of Lonzo’s impact on him, as this interview showed yet again.
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