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Lavar Ball has been gaining popularity ever since his three sons took over the basketball world.
Henry Jowaisas, Staff Reporter
Originally published December 1, 2017
Painting of Lavar Ball. (Fletcher Anderson)
Lavar Ball on a good day
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Provides for family
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Scholarships for college
Lavar Ball on a bad day
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Uses kids for money
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His kid got arrested in China
The list of ESPN articles and TV interviews with Lavar Ball is extensive, and for good reason. He brings in the viewers with his outrageous comments and antics. It seems like every time he has a camera in his face Ball makes a new outlandish claim about his sons, or his brand or his own basketball prowess. Behind this demeanor lies a marketing genius and exceptional father.
Most people have a problem with Lavar’s personality more than anything else. The things he says can be seen as a distraction for his sons’ development as basketball players and adults. However, their father’s temperament doesn’t seem to have rubbed off on Lonzo, Liangelo and Lamelo like some think it will. In all of Lonzo’s games from the Los Angeles Lakers, he has exerted himself as nothing but a professional. Recently, Lonzo went scoreless against the Portland Trailblazers. Even with the immense pressure from his dad and the expectations of Laker fans weighing down on him, he still managed to place the blame on himself. After Lamelo’s 92-point game, he dedicated it to a fellow student at Chino Hills with cancer.
There’s no doubt Lavar’s comments have put mass amounts of pressure on his kids. Before the start of the NBA season, he claimed that his oldest son was already better than two-time MVP Stephen Curry. Professional players like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons ridiculed Lonzo and his father in interviews and tweets. Pressure like this would cause some kids to fail under constant ridicule from the outside world. Not the Ball brothers though. Throughout their lives, each Ball brother has been subject to their father’s outlandish claims of their basketball prowess. Lonzo, who has been living with Lavar’s pressure for the longest, doesn’t seem to have cracked yet. Lamelo, who has gained mass amounts of exposure after his 92-point game, also continues to be a regular high school student. Even Liangelo, who has the most reason to be frenzied at his father’s opinions, as he is arguably the worst basketball player of the three, has succeeded in high school and college. With the constant pressure placed on his kids to become the best they can, he seems to have molded three boys into unfazeable basketball machines.
While Lavar Ball’s parenting style is unique and strange in today’s society, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. With the help of his wife, Tina Ball, he has compiled a plan for each of his son’s to become successful and provide for themselves and their families some day in the future. Why should Lavar be faulted for wanting the best for his kids?
