BET.com Exclusive: LaVar Ball Means What He Says 'Whether You Think It's Crazy or Not'
LaVar Ball will talk about anyone with zero chill whatsoever.
And the outspoken father of UCLA standout Lonzo Ball, 19, and Chino Hills High School (Chino Hills, California) sensations LiAngelo Ball, 18, and LaMelo Ball, 15, means every word he says, whether it's boldly predicting Lonzo "will be better than Steph Curry," or that he himself could've defeated Michael Jordan 1-on-1 back in the day.
The 49-year-old father also didn't flinch demanding a $1 billion sneaker deal for his trio of Ball sons nor did he back down from evoking LeBron James's sons in saying that Lonzo, LaMelo and LiAngelo are better set up for hoops success than LeBron James Jr., 12, and Bryce Maximus James, 9, because his kids don't have to live up to a superstar's impact. When King James warned LaVar to keep his kids' names and family out of his mouth, Mr. Ball shot back, calling James's response "touchy" and letting him know that "can't nobody warn me for nothing!"
What's most amazing is Mr. Ball made all these comments in the span of a month. BET.com spoke with LaVar Ball and asked him if he regrets any of those comments. No surprise ... he doesn't.
Here, he speaks about truly believing his bold statements, gives us a window of how long it will take for Lonzo to be the best player in the NBA and insists he'll secure that $1 billion bag for his sons. When Ball is Life!
What were some of the keys getting Lonzo, LaMelo and LiAngelo to this point as ballers and young men?
We’ve always told them if you have a passion for something, just follow it and it happened to be basketball, so me and my wife got behind them from day one. Their goal was to make it to the league and I told them, "You have a better chance of winning the lottery than making it into the NBA. But if you’re ready to make it to the NBA, I’ll help you." They’ve developed a work ethic for me and my wife. I always told them that if you want something, you’re going to have to work damn hard to get it and that nobody is just gonna give it to you.
Each of them have an advanced skill set for their age from their ball handling to long-range shooting ability and court vision. How did you work with them to get their all-around skills?
I’ve always trained them and I’ve always coached them since they were little. I made my own team, where they played the whole game and I never take them out. So, they brushed up on their skills. As far as doing drills and all that ... forget all that stuff. They did it in the game. I always taught them to play fast and advance the ball quickly. The fact that I had them playing up six, seven, and eight years above their age level, they developed that mindset where you can’t run over these guys. Let’s say you’re 12-years-old and you’re playing against guys 17 and 18, you better have a good jump shot because you’re not going to overpower them. I trained them to shoot far. That’s why they developed that long shot. They’ve been shooting that since they’ve been babies.
You have made comments that have received plenty of backlash from saying Lonzo will be better than Steph Curry to you yourself would’ve defeated Michael Jordan back in the day.
These are the things that I believe. If people ask me questions, they’re going to get answers of my opinions. That’s exactly what I feel whether you think it’s crazy or not.
Do you regret any of those comments?
I don’t regret nothing that comes out of my mouth. Whatever I say is real — for me, it is.
LeBron took offense to the comments you made about his sons, when you said that your fellas are better set up for success than his two boys, LeBron James Jr. and Bryce Maximus James. What’s your response to him warning you to keep his kids’ name and family out of your mouth?
On the show [Chris Broussard’s podcast In the Zone], they asked me do I think anybody is good as far as superstars' kids. I gave my answer, which was, 'No, I don't think they are.' I think they're good at 12 years old doing whatever they're doing, but they're never going to be as good as the superstars' parents on the fact that I don't know anybody who was a superstar and their kid was really, really good. I'm not saying their kids are bad, but their kids are not going to be as good as them because I haven't seen it. Until I see it, I'm going to say no. Michael Jordan’s kids — I’m not saying his kids were bad, but were they better than Jordan? I don’t think so. I’m thinking of all the superstars who had kids — boys — who had to live up to their [dads]. I didn’t say Shaq’s kid isn’t good. Shaq’s kid is good in basketball, but he ain’t Shaq.
So, for LeBron, for him to get touchy because I said that, that's on him. He warned me? Can't nobody warn me for nothing! I'm a grown-ass man! I'll say what I want about anybody. That's where it stands. If he's touchy on that, talking about he gave me a warning ... can't nobody warn me! I say what I want.
It's no derogatory comment towards his sons or him. He's talking about "keep my family out of your mouth." I'm not talking about your family. I'm responding to the question that somebody said to me and I'm talking about the feeling that I have that I don't think superstars' kids — I'm not saying they're not good kids — I just don't see them being as good as what their parents are.
We’re watching Lonzo’s complete game on display in the NCAA Tournament with UCLA. He'll lead the team against Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen round on Friday night. How important is it for him to lead the Bruins on a deep run in the Tournament?
Lonzo is going to do whatever he does. I have confidence in him winning the championship and he has confidence in himself winning the championship, so what Lonzo has to do is what he’s been doing all his life — just play basketball. It’s not pressure to him. It’s entertainment. So, whether he leads them far or not, he’s going to do what he does.
Back to you predicting that Lonzo will be better than Steph Curry …
People try to make it a negative, but they asked me that question. "Will your son be better than Steph Curry?" You think I’m gonna say, "Nah, I don’t think he’ll be better than Steph Curry?" Why didn’t they ask me that about Draymond Green? Why didn’t they ask me that about [Andre] Iguodala? Now, because you ask me that about [Curry], you expect me to change? Nah! He was the biggest one with a name, they’re both light-skinned guards and so, you’re trying to compare my son to that.
Steph Curry has a career in the NBA. But let’s just say you don’t know Steph Curry and he doesn’t have a name and Lonzo doesn’t have a name. Let’s just go on what we see. Say for instance you’re picking a team and you have a guy who’s 6-foot-3 and you have a guy who’s 6-foot-6. Most definitely, you’re going to take the guy who’s 6-foot-6. Are you going to pick the kid who’s faster or slower? You’ll take the faster kid. Lonzo is faster than him. Are you going to take the highest jumper, the most athletic? Lonzo is more athletic than him. They both shoot the same as far as the distance. So, without you knowing these guys and you’re just going off pure talent … come on!
From the moment Lonzo enters the league, how long do you think it will take for your son to be the best player in the NBA? Not only better than Steph Curry, but hands-down the best player in the league.
There’s a window. To be the best player, I would have to say … he’s 19, so probably by 24, 25 years old. It will take time, but it may even be quicker than that. Once he gets his grown-man strength … in my family, he’s a lightweight right now. He’ll probably get his Ball weight later, about 20-something years old. Right now, he’s 200 pounds. Look at him when he’s 21, 22 and he’ll be 230 pounds. He already has a feel for the game, but his mindset … it’s going to take him a little bit to get better. But I give him a window between being a rookie and seven years in the league.
Magic Johnson won a championship as a rookie. It took Michael Jordan seven years, so you got a window between one and seven years. If you do it in your rookie year, you’re good. If you do it in two years, you’re good. That means you’re doing it before Jordan and then you go from there.
My boy has a thing where he was the best player in high school. Now, he’s fighting to be the best player in college. So, when he gets to the league, he’s going to fight to be the best player in the league. It’s a goal for him to be the best player ever. I’ve been putting that in their heads since they’ve been babies. We won’t know until the end of their careers. We watched Kobe [Bryant] for 20 years and he didn’t wind up being better than Jordan, but we watched the whole time and he came close.
On SportsCenter last week, you double-downed on your $1 billion sneaker deal demand for your sons. Explain to us how you reached that figure?
Everybody wants to be millionaires. Shoot, I threw that $1 billion up there because that’s how much we’re worth. My son will be the first one drafted with his own brand — (the Ball family’s Big Baller Brand). LeBron — he just got a $1 billion deal. Nike, Adidas, Under Armour snatch these kids up for nothing. That’s why I thought of co-branding.
Everybody who comes into the league, Nike or Adidas gives them an endorsement deal. I don’t want an endorsement deal. That’s nothing. They’ll make you wear the shoe for $2 million, $3 million a year or even if they give you $100 million for 10 years, they think they’re doing something for you. But yet, they’re making $2 billion, $3 billion on the product per year, so that’s like pennies. That’s nothing. That’s crumbs.
Are you throwing out the $1 billion figure to drive up the price and get close to it or do you really think you’ll get it for your sons?
No, I don’t think I’m going to get it. I don’t think I’m going to get close to it. I know I’m going to get it because I ain’t settling for nothing less. If I don’t sign a co-brand [deal] with any of these guys, I’m going to sign [my sons] to Big Baller Brand. I have my own brand, so I don’t have to back up and wait for anybody to be like, "You know what? Are you going to give me an endorsement deal?" People think I’m just talking, but I have a game plan and a team in place to do what we’re going to do.
What do you say to people who hear your comments and say you’re hurting your kids by putting too much pressure on them?
I don’t say anything to them because they have their own opinions and can think how they want. But they’re not going to stop me from doing what I’m doing. I don’t see how they could say that because they don’t know me or my kids. People say, ‘You’re not helping them.’ Nope, I’ve already helped them. I helped them physically. I’m the one who held the clock when they were running the hills, I’m the one who rebounded the ball, I’m the one who helped them with the weights, I’m the one who got them where they’re at. That’s how I helped them. I don’t help them just by talking. I’m not hurting my kids. Anything I say, I mean it. My boys know what I’m about, I know what they’re about, so the people on the outside don’t mean a thing.
It’s like I tell my kids, pressure isn’t about sports or people telling you something. Pressure is if your ass comes home and they say, you’re evicted and no longer live here. Go find some food to eat. And you don’t have a job. Life-threatening things are pressure. But playing a game? Whether he makes or misses a shot, or wins or loses a Tournament, after a week or two, who cares? On to the next one.
On the flip side, you’ve received plenty of props, too, from people saluting you for your unwavering love and support of your sons. How do you feel about that?
When you say something — anything — you’re going to have 50 percent of the people like you for saying it and 50 percent not liking you for saying it. They’re just not used to dealing with a superstar like my boys and I don’t just have one — I have three of them. When the father is in the picture, everybody says, "What’s he doing? He needs to just let them go now." Whoa, wait a minute. I’ve been in my kids’ lives and now I’m supposed to back up and let you guys do whatever you want and when you’re finished with them, send them back to me? I don’t think so.
KD, LeBron, D. Wade, D. Rose … where’s the father at? Everybody says, "Oh, the mama is in their face" and "that’s my baby boy" and "they’re giving him a few things," and they think that’s OK. But as soon as the father is there, now they’re like, "Whoa, wait a minute … this ain’t what it’s supposed to be." It ain’t never been like this’ because they’re not ready for change.
Everybody is trying to compare me to somebody. They’re like, "Oh, LaVar he sounds like Muhammad Ali." Well, probably they’re trying to compare me to Muhammad Ali because he was the only one talking like this. What other sports figure was talking like that? Then they say me being like the fathers. Well, Venus and Serena [Williams’s] dad — those were two girls he was dealing with and they were playing tennis. Tiger Woods’s dad was dealing with one kid in golf and didn’t have a team. My boys are basketball players and I’ve got three boys to deal with, so they can’t compare me to raising one kid or two girls. We’re not the same fathers.
Your comments took on a different life with the Twitter hashtag #LaVarBallSays, which was trending last week with hilarious, outlandish statements from people doing their best impersonation of you. Did you catch any of those tweets?
I didn’t catch any of that because I don’t have no Twitter account. I’ll either talk to you in person or on the phone. #LaVarBallSays … hey, I don’t care what you do with it. What people say about me does not stop me from doing whatever I’m doing — sleeping, eating, and building this brand. It’s only conversation for the next day.
What do you say to people who think you continuously make bold comments just to stay in the headlines with your sons?
That’s their perception. I’ve been talking to people all my life. Now it’s just on camera, radio and all of this. I like talking to people just like I’m talking to you. I don’t know you, but you ain’t say anything bad to me. We’re having a conversation.
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