LaVar Ball has been known to speak loudly and often about his sons, mostly to brag about how awesome they are.
But it turns out the Ball patriarch has no problem taking his family members down a few pegs, either.
LaVar, the father of projected No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball, UCLA commit LiAngelo Ball and Chino Hills High School star LaMelo Ball, discussed the basketball futures of all three sons in a recent interview with GQ’s Zach Baron. Unsurprisingly, he lauded Lonzo with ridiculous praise — “The only dude who can talk to him is Magic (Johnson)” — and believes the 15-year-old LaMelo has the most star power.
LiAngelo, on the other hand… Well, just read this brutal excerpt from Baron about LaVar’s blunt conversation with his middle son:
“‘I told my boys that one of them wasn’t going to make it. Because if you’ve got three (sons), only one, maybe two make it to the NBA.’
“He says, right in front of everyone, that he thinks it’ll be his middle son, LiAngelo, who doesn’t make it. He says he’s told him that. ‘He’s going to be taken care of either way,’ he says. At least Gelo is the handsomest of his sons, he says — if basketball doesn’t work out, maybe he could be a model.”
In short: LaVar is banking on two of his sons being bona fide NBA superstars and the third not even making the big time. He’s never been one for subtlety, has he?
Of course, no one is used to LaVar’s big mouth more than Lonzo, who fielded questions from a horde of reporters in New York on Wednesday ahead of Thursday night’s draft. As usual, the 19-year-old is taking things in stride.
“We say all publicity is good publicity,” Ball said. “So, we’ll just take it.
“Everybody knows about (our) brand now. I think it helps, although some stuff is good and some stuff is bad. I wouldn’t change nothing.”
Thumbnail photo via Richard Mackson/USA TODAY Sports Images
