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Wikipedia

LaVar Ball

March 14, 2023

LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967)[1] is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA).[2] He is the father of three professional basketball players: Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo, Greensboro Swarm shooting guard LiAngelo and Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo.[3][4][5][6][7]

LaVar Ball
Ball in 2018
Born
LaVar Christopher Ball

(1967-10-23) October 23, 1967 (age 55)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materWest Los Angeles College
Washington State University
California State University, Los Angeles
Occupation(s)Co-founder and CEO of Big Baller Brand
Children3 (Lonzo, LiAngelo, LaMelo)
Football career
No. 99
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school:Canoga Park (CA)
College:Cal State-Los Angeles
Undrafted:1994
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Ball played basketball and football while at Canoga Park High School, going on to play basketball at the collegiate level for West Los Angeles College, Washington State and Cal State Los Angeles. He also played football at Long Beach City College for a season. He had a brief professional career as a tight end with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football, where he had a total of 28 kickoff return yards, and no receptions. He was a practice squad member of the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers in 1995, but never played an official regular season game in the National Football League.

Following a series of bold statements in the spring of 2017, Ball began repeatedly making national sports headlines. His early remarks included saying that his son Lonzo is better than Stephen Curry and claiming that he himself could defeat Michael Jordan one-on-one in basketball. He was subject to both praise and criticism as he continued making similar comments, some of which involved his company, Big Baller Brand. Ball has made several appearances on national TV and has routinely drawn attention from major sports media outlets. He has also been in the spotlight for his criticism of his sons' teams, most notably the Lakers for their treatment of Lonzo, as well as for his exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump after LiAngelo was detained in China for shoplifting.

Early life and college basketball career

Ball was born on October 23, 1967 to Anderson and Maria Ball, and was brought up in South Los Angeles, California.[8][9] He is considered the middle child of his family.[10] He has four brothers, named LaFrance, LaValle, LaRenzo, and LaShon, as well as two sisters.[9] Ball attended Canoga Park High School in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, where he was a prominent quarterback on the football team and played basketball as a forward.[11][12] In one season, Ball grabbed a total of 316 rebounds to break the school record.[12] He stood 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and weighed 250 lbs (113 kg) by college.[11] Aside from sports, Ball majored in criminal justice at college and had hopes of being a U.S. Marshal.[13] His favorite basketball player when growing up at the time was Charles Barkley.[14]

Ball first began playing college basketball at West Los Angeles College in the low-tier Western State Conference despite having little experience at the prep level. In the season opener in 1986, he recorded 33 points and 18 rebounds against Porterville College.[12] Ball then transferred to NCAA Division I Washington State and became a starting forward.[15] In 26 games for the Cougars, however; he averaged only 2.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.[16] After one season, Ball transferred again to Cal State Los Angeles, which competed in the NCAA Division II, playing alongside three of his four brothers.[17]

College basketball statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1987–88 Washington State 26 – – .404 .000 .450 2.3 1.0 .4 .1 2.2

Professional football career

Following college, Ball was invited to a football tryout and eventually made a return to the sport.[3] After finishing his college basketball career, he played a single year of college football at Long Beach City College as a tight end.[18] On May 1, 1994, Ball signed with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) as a defensive end.

Ball returned to the Jets on March 7, 1995, as a tight end and was immediately sent to the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football (WLAF) the same year.[19] In the 1995 season for the Monarchs, Ball had zero catches, but did record 28 yards in kick returns.[20] According to his teammate Kenny McEntyre, Ball was "garbage".[18]

During his NFL career, Ball was also a part of the practice squads of both the Jets and Carolina Panthers, remaining with the latter team until late November 1995, albeit with no games played due to injury.[21][22] His football career would come to an end after said injury, and he would retire to initially be a personal trainer in California.

In the media

Athlete comparisons and claims

Although LaVar Ball initially received minimal public attention at the start of 2016, his sons gave him a media platform that he would begin to use increasingly, starting at the end of the year. In July 2015, Ball and his sons made national sports headlines when Gary Parrish of CBS Sports wrote a feature story about the Ball family.[23] In a March 2016 interview with MaxPreps, he first began displaying his confident personality to the public. When asked who Lonzo plays like, he described his son as "Magic (Johnson) with a jumper."[9] The family continued rising in popularity after SLAM magazine featured them in an article in August 2016.[3] Subsequently, Ball himself rapidly rose in profile through a series of incredible comments about his children, such as on November 26, 2016, when in a TV interview he guaranteed that UCLA, spearheaded by Lonzo, would win the 2017 NCAA Division I Tournament.[24] On December 14, Ball predicted that all three of his sons would be one-and-done prospects for the NBA draft by playing only one year of college basketball.[25]

Many of Ball's eccentric claims have involved well-known basketball players. In early March 2017, he said that he viewed Lonzo as a better player than Stephen Curry, the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2015 and 2016.[26] UCLA all-time leading scorer Don MacLean called the comments "outrageous," and many bloggers ridiculed Ball for them.[26] Ball has also stated that he believes his eldest son is "the best player in the world," specifically comparing him with NBA MVPs LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.[27] Kyle Boone of CBS Sports responded: "There's no way in the world Lonzo would be taking down LeBron or Westbrook in any form of basketball right now."[27]

On March 13, 2017, Ball said in an interview with Josh Peter of USA Today: "Back in my heyday, I would kill Michael Jordan one-on-one," saying Jordan could only foul him if he did a jump hook, that Jordan could not stop him one-on-one, that Jordan was slower.[28] Ball was widely mocked for making the statement due to having averaged only 2.2 points per game while playing basketball at Washington State.[28][29][30] His comments comparing himself with Jordan resulted in a significant increase in media attention.[31] Following his claim, he appeared on the ESPN show First Take, in which he argued with Stephen A. Smith about his comments on Jordan.[32] As of March 2020 a YouTube video of the segment has received more than 6 million views.[33] In June 2018, Ball later mentioned that he could take on Kobe Bryant one-on-one also, although he admitted that it would mainly be due to Kobe's injury that ultimately took him out of the game in 2016. In 2020 Ball said on Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast that he would play a one-on-one match against Jordan on pay-per-view for $200 million.[34] On December 3, 2020 Bleacher Report posted a video of LaVar Ball playing Michael Jordan in a simulated first to 21, one-on-one match in NBA 2K21, the simulation showed Jordan beating Ball 22–3 with Jordan going on a 12–0 run against Ball during the game.[35][36]

Feud with President Donald Trump

On November 7, 2017, days before UCLA opened the 2017–18 season in Shanghai, China, Ball's son LiAngelo and teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were arrested for shoplifting from a high-end shopping center near their team hotel in Hangzhou.[37][38] The players were accused of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store in the mall.[37] Although LiAngelo faced a fine and three to ten years in prison if convicted, LaVar largely downplayed the situation.[39] Upon an alleged request from U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, who were on a 12-day visit to Asia at the time, to Chinese president Xi Jinping, the UCLA players were released from custody.[40][41] Trump then tweeted on November 15, "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!"[42] According to a timeline published by ESPN, Chinese authorities had dropped shoplifting charges against the players on November 7, 2017, five days before Trump got involved.[43]

On November 17, LaVar Ball responded to Trump: "Who? What was he over there for? Don't tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out."[41] Two days later, Trump labeled Ball "very ungrateful" and stated that he "should have left them in jail" in a series of tweets.[44][45] On November 20, Ball featured in a 20-minute interview with Chris Cuomo on CNN, where he continued refusing to thank Trump.[46] In the following days, Trump reasserted his role in releasing the UCLA players, while likening Ball to a "poor man's version of Don King" and calling him an "ungrateful fool."[47] In the midst of the exchange, UCLA suspended LiAngelo and his teammates indefinitely, after their public apology, in which they thanked Trump.[48] The decision led to LiAngelo's withdrawal from the UCLA basketball program on December 4, following LaVar's desires.[49] Following a March 3, 2018 ESPN report that Trump had no involvement in the incident, Ball wrote on Twitter, "Thank you for what again @realDonaldTrump ?"[50] Ball also mentioned that if he was going to thank anyone during that ordeal, it would be towards the Chinese president instead, as well as claimed the President was trying to ride the coattails of the Ball family at that time.[51]

In the aftermath of President Trump's tweet talking about LeBron James and his interview with CNN journalist Don Lemon on August 5, 2018, Ball mentioned to reporters at TMZ that the president is a racist and that "everybody knows that. It's not a secret."[52] He also encouraged his sons to be political in the event it's necessary for them to do so, live their lives to the fullest, be passionate at the sport of basketball, and love everyone that's nice to them. However, on February 25, 2019, when talking about the U.S.A.'s relationship with China, President Trump reaffirmed his stance on the situation with LiAngelo and the two other players, stating he conversed with Xi Jinping about the college students and that LaVar's consultant would have gone nowhere in their conversations.[53] Ball later stated he wouldn't vote for Trump at all in the 2020 Presidential elections.[54] After Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election LaVar suggested Trump lost the election because of their feud.[55]

Lakers coaching criticism

They're soft. They don't know how to coach my son. I know how to coach him, I tell him to go get the victory. Stop messing around.

– Ball on the Lakers' coaching of his eldest son.

In November 2017, Ball criticized Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton for what he thought was a wrong approach to coaching his eldest son, Lonzo. Ball mentioned that his son was focusing on getting the victory for his team in a November loss to the Phoenix Suns, before stating that the coaching is making him appear soft.[56] Later that same month, after an overtime loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors, Ball criticized Walton again in a post-game interview with ESPN. Ball claimed that the game should not have gone to overtime and that Lonzo's teammate, Julius Randle, should have passed the ball to his son for the potential game-winning play and that the head coach should not have called a timeout late in the fourth quarter.[57] Starting in December, the Lakers would enforce a new rule, dubbed by employees at the Staples Center to be the "LaVar Ball Rule," to forbid media to talk with the team's family members at home games. On December 12, 2017, the Lakers' front office met with LaVar, asking him to tone down the criticisms on their head coach and help create a more positive environment for his son to prosper in.[58] However, less than a month later while in Lithuania in January 2018, Ball noticed that even though he considers the Lakers to be a good team, he thought they were no longer playing for their coach, resulting in them having the worst record in the Western Conference at the time.[59] This resulted in not only Luke Walton responding that the Lakers have "100% confidence" in his abilities, but also other NBA coaches like Rick Carlisle, Stan Van Gundy, Jeff Hornacek, Gregg Popovich, and Steve Kerr responding to Ball's comments as well.[60] Other Lakers players like Kyle Kuzma also voiced their support for Luke Walton, with Lonzo saying that nothing's really going to stop his father from being who he is. On January 13, 2018, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss posted a Tweet showing her support for Walton alongside general manager Rob Pelinka, with Magic Johnson giving huge support for their head coach after their fourth straight win since Ball's latest comments after originally having a 9-game losing streak at the time.[61] However, Ball would show some respect towards Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka on the situation, noting they're down to Earth with him while also noting the problems with the media industry as a whole.[62] Ball would ultimately end his quibbles with Walton on June 13, 2018, where he mentions he's a good coach that just needed to figure things out during the previous season.[63]

Business interests

Big Baller Brand

Main article: Big Baller Brand

Ball is the co-founder[64] and CEO of Big Baller Brand, a sports apparel company that he launched alongside Alan Foster's help in 2016.[65] However, it was later reported that despite creating the company, LaVar held a minor share of the business, with his son Lonzo being majority holder within it.[66] During his rise in March 2017, he often promoted his brand on national TV, comparing it with major shoe companies like Nike and Adidas.[67] Soon after, Lonzo's connection to the brand while he played college basketball at UCLA raised questions about whether it broke National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules.[68] In mid-March, Time wrote an article describing the Ball's campaign against the NCAA rules.[69] On April 20, George Raveling, the global basketball sports marketing director of Nike, called Ball "the worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years."[70][71] In response, Ball claimed that Big Baller Brand would eventually compete with Nike.[71] In the following week, Nike, Under Armour and Adidas declined to sign an endorsement deal with Lonzo, according to Ball.[72][73]

On May 4, 2017, Big Baller Brand announced its first shoes, the ZO2, which had a retail price of $495 and would be shipped later on, by as late as November 24.[74][75] Shaquille O'Neal criticized Ball for overpricing the shoes, while Dick Vitale took aim at the price by citing Lonzo's performance against Kentucky at the NCAA Tournament.[76][77] On Twitter, many NFL players like Golden Tate were critical of the shoe price, while Arian Foster and others showed their support.[76] Ball answered by posting on Twitter, "If you can't afford the ZO2'S, you're NOT a BIG BALLER!"[76] The Washington Post wrote that Ball's style of promoting of the shoe was both shameless and smart.[76]

On September 1, 2017, Big Baller Brand announced a signature shoe for LaVar's youngest son LaMelo Ball, the Melo Ball 1 (MB1), on its website for pre-order for $395.[78] The announcement once again stirred controversy regarding LaMelo's NCAA eligibility.[78][79] NCAA spokesperson Emily James said, "Generally speaking, a college athlete or prospect paid for use of their athletics reputation or ability risks their future eligibility in that sport. This includes profiting from the sale of items bearing the young person's name. NCAA rules, however, do allow prospects to promote commercial products prior to enrollment, provided it is not for pay."[78] LaVar expressed a general disregard for the NCAA rules, saying that the shoe would be released whether or not his son would become ineligible.[78][80] After his son LiAngelo was suspended and later removed from UCLA, Ball would create his own brand of shoes for his son called the Gelo 3 on December 4, 2017.[81] Similar to the MB1, the Gelo 3 is also set at around $395; the shoes would later be rebranded as the G3 Lux.[82] LaVar also announced he and his wife would have signature shoes later on as well, with LaVar's shoes considered to be LaVariccis and Tina's shoes titled as "The Comeback" for her battle on regaining her health after a stroke back in 2017.[83]

In March 2019, news came out that his eldest son Lonzo had cut ties with the Big Baller Brand's manager and co-founder Alan Foster, claiming from his financial manager, Humble Lukanga, that Foster had previously been arrested in 2002 for money laundering and fraud, as well as noting that he allegedly stole $1.5 million from within the company.[84] Lonzo would also change his shoes that he'd wear from the usual ZO2 shoes from the Big Baller Brand to various Nike shoes instead, getting rid of his old shoes in a video promoting the boycott from within the company.[85] LaVar later stated that he always believed in the best of people, but regrets putting trust in Foster to manage his eldest son's business affairs. He also fully supports Lonzo's decisions moving forward and looks to make things right within his family moving forward from the incident.[86] The family also discussed about folding the business altogether after news of the situation came out to the public eye.[87]

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas

 
Ball (left) being interviewed by ESPN in January 2018

After his sons LaMelo and LiAngelo began playing with the Lithuanian team Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas in January 2018, Ball began multiple business endeavors involving the team and Big Baller Brand.[88] Immediately following the Ball brothers' arrival in Lithuania, Vytautas withdrew from the Baltic Basketball League (BBL) and instead created a five-game exhibition series to showcase the Ball brothers, known as the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games.[89] The event took place from January 9 through January 29 and games were live streamed through Facebook.[90] The games were noted for their heavy advertisement of Big Baller Brand, with Business Insider commenting that the company was "the real star of the show."[90] Shortly after the Ball brothers began playing professionally, LaVar Ball reportedly gave "a lot of money" to Vytautas to help it pay off its debts, which allowed the Big Baller Brand to officially become the team's main sponsor during the season, which was reported later on to be around 100,000 Euros.[91][92] Ball also expressed his love for the nation of Lithuania, noting that everything about it is pure, starting from the people onward.[93]

During his time spent with Vytautas, however, Ball would also disparage their head coach Virginijus Šeškus, as he had attacked Lakers coach Luke Walton during the 2017-18 NBA season.[94] Šeškus would ultimately tune out Ball near the end of Vytautas's season, noting his own experience as a player, tuning out the negative responses behind the bench.[95] On April 25, after a loss to Šiauliai without either one of his sons playing, Ball announced that he was pulling his younger sons off the team and would return to the US for the 2018 NBA draft. Vytautas's head coach Šeškus stated that the Ball family essentially "came for the show, not for basketball" (referring to their Facebook Live show Ball in the Family), and that it was a pity they did not understand the benefits of being on a professional team in Lithuania.[96] LaVar would later comment that everything involved with his time out in Lithuania went exactly as planned for his two sons there.[97] Ultimately, LaVar, his sons LiAngelo and LaMelo, and his brother LaValle expressed their thanks and gratitude to the fans of Vytautas before officially leaving.[98] Furthermore, despite finishing their season in last place, Vytautas would remain in the LKL, although they would lose their Vytautas team sponsorship name after the end of that season, as well as no longer have the Big Baller Brand as an official sponsor for the team. Later on, in August 2018, the team issued a statement stating that LaVar and his sons were the problem throughout early 2018, claiming they didn't pay money to the Big Baller Brand's tournament winners, as well as withdrawing financial support for the team and taking back shooting machines that were presented as gifts.[99]

Junior Basketball Association

Main article: Junior Basketball Association

On December 20, 2017, Ball announced that under complete funding of the Big Baller Brand, he would help set up the creation of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA).[100] Under his planning, the league is set up as an alternative to college basketball and other alternative methods for high school players that may not want to play in the collegiate level, with 8 teams being involved in the league looking to play in major NBA venues out in places like Los Angeles, Dallas, Brooklyn, and Atlanta. The goal there is to have 80 different players participate in the league, with lower-ranked players earning $3,000 per month and higher-ranked players earning up to $10,000 per month. Its rules are set to be similar to that of the NBA with 12-minute quarters and a three-point line similar to what's seen in professional leagues like the NBA. Players would also wear merchandise from the Big Baller Brand, including shoes and branded uniforms; the Junior Basketball Association's logo is set to have a silhouette of his oldest son, Lonzo. His inspiration for creating the league came from the aftermath of LiAngelo Ball's situation in UCLA, which resulted in his removal from the school earlier in December, as a response to comments made by NCAA President Mark Emmert. On May 1, 2018, Ball announced he would look into bringing his youngest son, LaMelo, into the league to help both upstart it and regain some lost reputation to his name during his time out in Lithuania.[101] Three days later, his youngest son was announced as a member of the Los Angeles Ballers.[102] LiAngelo would also play with his younger brother on July 9, 2018, after being undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft and not participating properly in the 2018 NBA Summer League. During the inaugural All-Star Game on August 3, 2018, Ball coached the Western Conference's All-Star team, which included LiAngelo and LaMelo. The West team defeated East, 202–189, and LiAngelo won the All-Star Game MVP Award for the West.

Further basketball events

Due to his increased exposure, Ball put up enough clout to produce certain basketball events in recent years. During the months of January and February 2018, back when his sons LiAngelo and LaMelo were playing in Lithuania, LaVar created the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games and Big Baller Brand International Tournament respectively. The Challenge Games were set up for where Vytautas would play exhibition games against other, mostly younger Lithuanian teams to showcase the nation's talent, while the International Tournament was a round robin tournament where Vytautas competed against other teams from various countries. Vytautas also set up a couple more exhibition games during the Ball brothers' time in Lithuania. After the conclusion of the 2018 JBA season, the league set up an international season to compete against other nations' young basketball teams to increase exposure from within. The event was projected to last longer into 2019, but a fight during one of the games canceled other games in the season.

Reactions

Many of Ball's decisions, primarily his comments in the media, have raised significant controversy around him and his sons. He has often been subject to criticism and praise from several media outlets for various reasons. Forbes has labeled him "one of the most polarizing figures in sports today."[103]

He has been labeled "outrageous,"[104] "wild and crazy,"[105] and a "moron."[106] Multiple notable basketball figures, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have said that Ball has had a negative effect on the sport to some extent.[71][107] Philadelphia 76ers teammates Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have attacked Ball on social media, while John Wall, Kenyon Martin, Jerry West, and Reggie Miller have also criticized his impact on his children.[26][108][109][110][111] Steve Kerr also disregarded Ball, calling him 'the Kardashian of the NBA.'[112] On the other hand, some NBA stars like DeMarcus Cousins, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant have shown support for Ball.[113][114][115]

Allegations of discriminatory comments

On March 25, 2017, after Ball's November 2016 prediction that UCLA would win the NCAA championship, the team lost to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 round of the tournament, with Lonzo pulling a hamstring.[116][117] Weeks after the loss, Ball said, "Realistically you can't win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow. I told Lonzo: 'One of these games you might need to go for 30 or 40 points.' It turned out that was the one game. Then once they get to the Elite 8, they're right there."[116] He was presumably referring to his son's three white teammates Bryce Alford, T. J. Leaf, and Thomas Welsh.[118][119] Lonzo downplayed the remarks, viewing them "as a joke."[120] Brian Mazique of Forbes criticized Ball's comments as "plain racist," while David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel called them factually correct despite being politically incorrect.[121][122] Actor Michael Rapaport recorded a profanity-laced rant against Ball as well.[123] One day after making the statement, Ball clarified by saying "I love those guys" and instead pushed blame for the loss onto his son.[120]

Parenting style

Since rising to fame, Ball's words and actions have sparked significant debate over his parenting, which has drawn both praise and criticism.[124][125] His parenting style, which has produced a wide range of opinions, has been compared to those of Richard Williams, Earl Woods, and Marv Marinovich.[126][127][128] Although often praised for raising three high-level basketball players and for his entertaining personality, Ball has also been condemned for several reasons.[125][129] The Globe and Mail has criticized LaVar for trying to "get rich off his kids' accomplishments," labeling him an "addict for attention."[126] Ball received further disapproval after reportedly declining Lonzo's $10 million shoe contract with Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour, instead continuing with his own company Big Baller Brand.[130] Before the 2017 NBA draft, Ball was seen as potential "baggage" that would come with selecting Lonzo, due to his frequent bold claims in the media.[131] An unnamed NBA general manager has condemned Ball for putting too much pressure on his son Lonzo.[130] After Lonzo was picked, New York Daily News labeled LaVar "Jerk of the Week" for making "hollow guarantees" instead of celebrating for his son.[132] On October 3, 2017, after Ball removed his son LaMelo from Chino Hills High School to personally train him, Nancy Armour of USA Today wrote an article calling Ball the "worst sports parent ever."[127]

Personal life

Ball met his wife, Tina Slatinsky, at Cal State Los Angeles, and they married in 1997. They have three sons, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo.[133] Lonzo is currently a point guard for the Chicago Bulls, LaMelo is a point guard for the Charlotte Hornets, and LiAngelo last played shooting guard/small forward for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2021 NBA Summer League.[134][135] Both LiAngelo and LaMelo were previously signed with the Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League from December 11, 2017, until April 25, 2018.[136] LaVar also was an assistant coach during the fourth game of the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games for the Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas on January 23, 2018, and was named head coach for the final game of the event five days later.[137] He later coached Vytautas once again for the Big Baller Brand International Tournament, as well as a couple other exhibition games against other international teams.[138] His wife, Tina, suffered a stroke in 2017, which left her dealing with aphasia in relation to it.[139]

After his youngest son, LaMelo, reached four years of age, Ball began training all of his sons to play basketball.[9] They were taught many skills by their father and later played for his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, Big Ballers VXT.[17] For a relatively short period of time in their childhoods, Ball also had them play flag football, with Lonzo playing quarterback and his other sons catching passes.[9] Following an illustrious career at Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California, Lonzo became a star at UCLA. Ball's younger sons played at the same high school and originally both committed to UCLA, with LiAngelo briefly attending there in 2017 before joining LaMelo out in Lithuania later that year, as well as with the Los Angeles Ballers in the JBA.[140]

Reality television

In early July 2017, Deadline Hollywood reported that Facebook would be releasing a reality television show featuring the Ball family. It would be a part of a larger project for the social media website to enter the video business.[141] After several weeks, it was announced that the show, called Ball in the Family, would exclusively air on Facebook on August 31, with the following episodes airing every Sunday, starting on September 10.[142][143] It was produced by Bunim/Murray Productions, which also helped create the reality TV series Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E! and Real World on MTV.[144] One impact involved with the show was that a local Lithuanian pizza shop named Tango Pizza expanded their business and revamped their menus to fit more of the American cuisine over the prior Italian specialty, including a popular special named after LaVar that's the equivalent of a meat lover's pizza.[145] On February 15, 2018, Ball and his son Lonzo competed against each other on Lip Sync Battle, with LaVar winning the episode over his son.

References

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March 14, 2023
lavar, ball, lavar, christopher, ball, born, october, 1967, american, businessman, founder, chief, executive, officer, sports, apparel, company, baller, brand, founder, defunct, junior, basketball, association, father, three, professional, basketball, players,. LaVar Christopher Ball born October 23 1967 1 is an American businessman He is the co founder and chief executive officer CEO of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association JBA 2 He is the father of three professional basketball players Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Greensboro Swarm shooting guard LiAngelo and Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo 3 4 5 6 7 LaVar BallBall in 2018BornLaVar Christopher Ball 1967 10 23 October 23 1967 age 55 Los Angeles California U S Alma materWest Los Angeles CollegeWashington State UniversityCalifornia State University Los AngelesOccupation s Co founder and CEO of Big Baller BrandChildren3 Lonzo LiAngelo LaMelo Football careerNo 99Position Tight endPersonal informationHeight 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m Weight 250 lb 113 kg Career informationHigh school Canoga Park CA College Cal State Los AngelesUndrafted 1994Career historyNew York Jets 1994 1995 London Monarchs WLAF 1995 Carolina Panthers 1995 Offseason and or practice squad member onlyBall played basketball and football while at Canoga Park High School going on to play basketball at the collegiate level for West Los Angeles College Washington State and Cal State Los Angeles He also played football at Long Beach City College for a season He had a brief professional career as a tight end with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football where he had a total of 28 kickoff return yards and no receptions He was a practice squad member of the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers in 1995 but never played an official regular season game in the National Football League Following a series of bold statements in the spring of 2017 Ball began repeatedly making national sports headlines His early remarks included saying that his son Lonzo is better than Stephen Curry and claiming that he himself could defeat Michael Jordan one on one in basketball He was subject to both praise and criticism as he continued making similar comments some of which involved his company Big Baller Brand Ball has made several appearances on national TV and has routinely drawn attention from major sports media outlets He has also been in the spotlight for his criticism of his sons teams most notably the Lakers for their treatment of Lonzo as well as for his exchange with U S President Donald Trump after LiAngelo was detained in China for shoplifting Contents 1 Early life and college basketball career 1 1 College basketball statistics 2 Professional football career 3 In the media 3 1 Athlete comparisons and claims 3 2 Feud with President Donald Trump 3 3 Lakers coaching criticism 4 Business interests 4 1 Big Baller Brand 4 1 1 Vytautas Prienai Birstonas 4 2 Junior Basketball Association 4 3 Further basketball events 5 Reactions 5 1 Allegations of discriminatory comments 5 2 Parenting style 6 Personal life 6 1 Reality television 7 ReferencesEarly life and college basketball career EditBall was born on October 23 1967 to Anderson and Maria Ball and was brought up in South Los Angeles California 8 9 He is considered the middle child of his family 10 He has four brothers named LaFrance LaValle LaRenzo and LaShon as well as two sisters 9 Ball attended Canoga Park High School in Canoga Park Los Angeles where he was a prominent quarterback on the football team and played basketball as a forward 11 12 In one season Ball grabbed a total of 316 rebounds to break the school record 12 He stood 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m and weighed 250 lbs 113 kg by college 11 Aside from sports Ball majored in criminal justice at college and had hopes of being a U S Marshal 13 His favorite basketball player when growing up at the time was Charles Barkley 14 Ball first began playing college basketball at West Los Angeles College in the low tier Western State Conference despite having little experience at the prep level In the season opener in 1986 he recorded 33 points and 18 rebounds against Porterville College 12 Ball then transferred to NCAA Division I Washington State and became a starting forward 15 In 26 games for the Cougars however he averaged only 2 2 points 2 3 rebounds and 1 0 assists per game 16 After one season Ball transferred again to Cal State Los Angeles which competed in the NCAA Division II playing alongside three of his four brothers 17 College basketball statistics Edit Year Team GP GS MPG FG 3P FT RPG APG SPG BPG PPG1987 88 Washington State 26 404 000 450 2 3 1 0 4 1 2 2Professional football career EditFollowing college Ball was invited to a football tryout and eventually made a return to the sport 3 After finishing his college basketball career he played a single year of college football at Long Beach City College as a tight end 18 On May 1 1994 Ball signed with the New York Jets of the National Football League NFL as a defensive end Ball returned to the Jets on March 7 1995 as a tight end and was immediately sent to the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football WLAF the same year 19 In the 1995 season for the Monarchs Ball had zero catches but did record 28 yards in kick returns 20 According to his teammate Kenny McEntyre Ball was garbage 18 During his NFL career Ball was also a part of the practice squads of both the Jets and Carolina Panthers remaining with the latter team until late November 1995 albeit with no games played due to injury 21 22 His football career would come to an end after said injury and he would retire to initially be a personal trainer in California In the media EditAthlete comparisons and claims Edit Although LaVar Ball initially received minimal public attention at the start of 2016 his sons gave him a media platform that he would begin to use increasingly starting at the end of the year In July 2015 Ball and his sons made national sports headlines when Gary Parrish of CBS Sports wrote a feature story about the Ball family 23 In a March 2016 interview with MaxPreps he first began displaying his confident personality to the public When asked who Lonzo plays like he described his son as Magic Johnson with a jumper 9 The family continued rising in popularity after SLAM magazine featured them in an article in August 2016 3 Subsequently Ball himself rapidly rose in profile through a series of incredible comments about his children such as on November 26 2016 when in a TV interview he guaranteed that UCLA spearheaded by Lonzo would win the 2017 NCAA Division I Tournament 24 On December 14 Ball predicted that all three of his sons would be one and done prospects for the NBA draft by playing only one year of college basketball 25 Many of Ball s eccentric claims have involved well known basketball players In early March 2017 he said that he viewed Lonzo as a better player than Stephen Curry the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2015 and 2016 26 UCLA all time leading scorer Don MacLean called the comments outrageous and many bloggers ridiculed Ball for them 26 Ball has also stated that he believes his eldest son is the best player in the world specifically comparing him with NBA MVPs LeBron James and Russell Westbrook 27 Kyle Boone of CBS Sports responded There s no way in the world Lonzo would be taking down LeBron or Westbrook in any form of basketball right now 27 On March 13 2017 Ball said in an interview with Josh Peter of USA Today Back in my heyday I would kill Michael Jordan one on one saying Jordan could only foul him if he did a jump hook that Jordan could not stop him one on one that Jordan was slower 28 Ball was widely mocked for making the statement due to having averaged only 2 2 points per game while playing basketball at Washington State 28 29 30 His comments comparing himself with Jordan resulted in a significant increase in media attention 31 Following his claim he appeared on the ESPN show First Take in which he argued with Stephen A Smith about his comments on Jordan 32 As of March 2020 a YouTube video of the segment has received more than 6 million views 33 In June 2018 Ball later mentioned that he could take on Kobe Bryant one on one also although he admitted that it would mainly be due to Kobe s injury that ultimately took him out of the game in 2016 In 2020 Ball said on Shannon Sharpe s Club Shay Shay podcast that he would play a one on one match against Jordan on pay per view for 200 million 34 On December 3 2020 Bleacher Report posted a video of LaVar Ball playing Michael Jordan in a simulated first to 21 one on one match in NBA 2K21 the simulation showed Jordan beating Ball 22 3 with Jordan going on a 12 0 run against Ball during the game 35 36 Feud with President Donald Trump Edit On November 7 2017 days before UCLA opened the 2017 18 season in Shanghai China Ball s son LiAngelo and teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were arrested for shoplifting from a high end shopping center near their team hotel in Hangzhou 37 38 The players were accused of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store in the mall 37 Although LiAngelo faced a fine and three to ten years in prison if convicted LaVar largely downplayed the situation 39 Upon an alleged request from U S President Donald Trump and his administration who were on a 12 day visit to Asia at the time to Chinese president Xi Jinping the UCLA players were released from custody 40 41 Trump then tweeted on November 15 Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump They were headed for 10 years in jail 42 According to a timeline published by ESPN Chinese authorities had dropped shoplifting charges against the players on November 7 2017 five days before Trump got involved 43 On November 17 LaVar Ball responded to Trump Who What was he over there for Don t tell me nothing Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out 41 Two days later Trump labeled Ball very ungrateful and stated that he should have left them in jail in a series of tweets 44 45 On November 20 Ball featured in a 20 minute interview with Chris Cuomo on CNN where he continued refusing to thank Trump 46 In the following days Trump reasserted his role in releasing the UCLA players while likening Ball to a poor man s version of Don King and calling him an ungrateful fool 47 In the midst of the exchange UCLA suspended LiAngelo and his teammates indefinitely after their public apology in which they thanked Trump 48 The decision led to LiAngelo s withdrawal from the UCLA basketball program on December 4 following LaVar s desires 49 Following a March 3 2018 ESPN report that Trump had no involvement in the incident Ball wrote on Twitter Thank you for what again realDonaldTrump 50 Ball also mentioned that if he was going to thank anyone during that ordeal it would be towards the Chinese president instead as well as claimed the President was trying to ride the coattails of the Ball family at that time 51 In the aftermath of President Trump s tweet talking about LeBron James and his interview with CNN journalist Don Lemon on August 5 2018 Ball mentioned to reporters at TMZ that the president is a racist and that everybody knows that It s not a secret 52 He also encouraged his sons to be political in the event it s necessary for them to do so live their lives to the fullest be passionate at the sport of basketball and love everyone that s nice to them However on February 25 2019 when talking about the U S A s relationship with China President Trump reaffirmed his stance on the situation with LiAngelo and the two other players stating he conversed with Xi Jinping about the college students and that LaVar s consultant would have gone nowhere in their conversations 53 Ball later stated he wouldn t vote for Trump at all in the 2020 Presidential elections 54 After Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election LaVar suggested Trump lost the election because of their feud 55 Lakers coaching criticism Edit They re soft They don t know how to coach my son I know how to coach him I tell him to go get the victory Stop messing around Ball on the Lakers coaching of his eldest son In November 2017 Ball criticized Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton for what he thought was a wrong approach to coaching his eldest son Lonzo Ball mentioned that his son was focusing on getting the victory for his team in a November loss to the Phoenix Suns before stating that the coaching is making him appear soft 56 Later that same month after an overtime loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors Ball criticized Walton again in a post game interview with ESPN Ball claimed that the game should not have gone to overtime and that Lonzo s teammate Julius Randle should have passed the ball to his son for the potential game winning play and that the head coach should not have called a timeout late in the fourth quarter 57 Starting in December the Lakers would enforce a new rule dubbed by employees at the Staples Center to be the LaVar Ball Rule to forbid media to talk with the team s family members at home games On December 12 2017 the Lakers front office met with LaVar asking him to tone down the criticisms on their head coach and help create a more positive environment for his son to prosper in 58 However less than a month later while in Lithuania in January 2018 Ball noticed that even though he considers the Lakers to be a good team he thought they were no longer playing for their coach resulting in them having the worst record in the Western Conference at the time 59 This resulted in not only Luke Walton responding that the Lakers have 100 confidence in his abilities but also other NBA coaches like Rick Carlisle Stan Van Gundy Jeff Hornacek Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr responding to Ball s comments as well 60 Other Lakers players like Kyle Kuzma also voiced their support for Luke Walton with Lonzo saying that nothing s really going to stop his father from being who he is On January 13 2018 Lakers owner Jeanie Buss posted a Tweet showing her support for Walton alongside general manager Rob Pelinka with Magic Johnson giving huge support for their head coach after their fourth straight win since Ball s latest comments after originally having a 9 game losing streak at the time 61 However Ball would show some respect towards Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka on the situation noting they re down to Earth with him while also noting the problems with the media industry as a whole 62 Ball would ultimately end his quibbles with Walton on June 13 2018 where he mentions he s a good coach that just needed to figure things out during the previous season 63 Business interests EditBig Baller Brand Edit Main article Big Baller Brand Ball is the co founder 64 and CEO of Big Baller Brand a sports apparel company that he launched alongside Alan Foster s help in 2016 65 However it was later reported that despite creating the company LaVar held a minor share of the business with his son Lonzo being majority holder within it 66 During his rise in March 2017 he often promoted his brand on national TV comparing it with major shoe companies like Nike and Adidas 67 Soon after Lonzo s connection to the brand while he played college basketball at UCLA raised questions about whether it broke National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA rules 68 In mid March Time wrote an article describing the Ball s campaign against the NCAA rules 69 On April 20 George Raveling the global basketball sports marketing director of Nike called Ball the worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years 70 71 In response Ball claimed that Big Baller Brand would eventually compete with Nike 71 In the following week Nike Under Armour and Adidas declined to sign an endorsement deal with Lonzo according to Ball 72 73 On May 4 2017 Big Baller Brand announced its first shoes the ZO2 which had a retail price of 495 and would be shipped later on by as late as November 24 74 75 Shaquille O Neal criticized Ball for overpricing the shoes while Dick Vitale took aim at the price by citing Lonzo s performance against Kentucky at the NCAA Tournament 76 77 On Twitter many NFL players like Golden Tate were critical of the shoe price while Arian Foster and others showed their support 76 Ball answered by posting on Twitter If you can t afford the ZO2 S you re NOT a BIG BALLER 76 The Washington Post wrote that Ball s style of promoting of the shoe was both shameless and smart 76 On September 1 2017 Big Baller Brand announced a signature shoe for LaVar s youngest son LaMelo Ball the Melo Ball 1 MB1 on its website for pre order for 395 78 The announcement once again stirred controversy regarding LaMelo s NCAA eligibility 78 79 NCAA spokesperson Emily James said Generally speaking a college athlete or prospect paid for use of their athletics reputation or ability risks their future eligibility in that sport This includes profiting from the sale of items bearing the young person s name NCAA rules however do allow prospects to promote commercial products prior to enrollment provided it is not for pay 78 LaVar expressed a general disregard for the NCAA rules saying that the shoe would be released whether or not his son would become ineligible 78 80 After his son LiAngelo was suspended and later removed from UCLA Ball would create his own brand of shoes for his son called the Gelo 3 on December 4 2017 81 Similar to the MB1 the Gelo 3 is also set at around 395 the shoes would later be rebranded as the G3 Lux 82 LaVar also announced he and his wife would have signature shoes later on as well with LaVar s shoes considered to be LaVariccis and Tina s shoes titled as The Comeback for her battle on regaining her health after a stroke back in 2017 83 In March 2019 news came out that his eldest son Lonzo had cut ties with the Big Baller Brand s manager and co founder Alan Foster claiming from his financial manager Humble Lukanga that Foster had previously been arrested in 2002 for money laundering and fraud as well as noting that he allegedly stole 1 5 million from within the company 84 Lonzo would also change his shoes that he d wear from the usual ZO2 shoes from the Big Baller Brand to various Nike shoes instead getting rid of his old shoes in a video promoting the boycott from within the company 85 LaVar later stated that he always believed in the best of people but regrets putting trust in Foster to manage his eldest son s business affairs He also fully supports Lonzo s decisions moving forward and looks to make things right within his family moving forward from the incident 86 The family also discussed about folding the business altogether after news of the situation came out to the public eye 87 Vytautas Prienai Birstonas Edit Ball left being interviewed by ESPN in January 2018 After his sons LaMelo and LiAngelo began playing with the Lithuanian team Vytautas Prienai Birstonas in January 2018 Ball began multiple business endeavors involving the team and Big Baller Brand 88 Immediately following the Ball brothers arrival in Lithuania Vytautas withdrew from the Baltic Basketball League BBL and instead created a five game exhibition series to showcase the Ball brothers known as the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games 89 The event took place from January 9 through January 29 and games were live streamed through Facebook 90 The games were noted for their heavy advertisement of Big Baller Brand with Business Insider commenting that the company was the real star of the show 90 Shortly after the Ball brothers began playing professionally LaVar Ball reportedly gave a lot of money to Vytautas to help it pay off its debts which allowed the Big Baller Brand to officially become the team s main sponsor during the season which was reported later on to be around 100 000 Euros 91 92 Ball also expressed his love for the nation of Lithuania noting that everything about it is pure starting from the people onward 93 During his time spent with Vytautas however Ball would also disparage their head coach Virginijus Seskus as he had attacked Lakers coach Luke Walton during the 2017 18 NBA season 94 Seskus would ultimately tune out Ball near the end of Vytautas s season noting his own experience as a player tuning out the negative responses behind the bench 95 On April 25 after a loss to Siauliai without either one of his sons playing Ball announced that he was pulling his younger sons off the team and would return to the US for the 2018 NBA draft Vytautas s head coach Seskus stated that the Ball family essentially came for the show not for basketball referring to their Facebook Live show Ball in the Family and that it was a pity they did not understand the benefits of being on a professional team in Lithuania 96 LaVar would later comment that everything involved with his time out in Lithuania went exactly as planned for his two sons there 97 Ultimately LaVar his sons LiAngelo and LaMelo and his brother LaValle expressed their thanks and gratitude to the fans of Vytautas before officially leaving 98 Furthermore despite finishing their season in last place Vytautas would remain in the LKL although they would lose their Vytautas team sponsorship name after the end of that season as well as no longer have the Big Baller Brand as an official sponsor for the team Later on in August 2018 the team issued a statement stating that LaVar and his sons were the problem throughout early 2018 claiming they didn t pay money to the Big Baller Brand s tournament winners as well as withdrawing financial support for the team and taking back shooting machines that were presented as gifts 99 Junior Basketball Association Edit Main article Junior Basketball Association On December 20 2017 Ball announced that under complete funding of the Big Baller Brand he would help set up the creation of the Junior Basketball Association JBA 100 Under his planning the league is set up as an alternative to college basketball and other alternative methods for high school players that may not want to play in the collegiate level with 8 teams being involved in the league looking to play in major NBA venues out in places like Los Angeles Dallas Brooklyn and Atlanta The goal there is to have 80 different players participate in the league with lower ranked players earning 3 000 per month and higher ranked players earning up to 10 000 per month Its rules are set to be similar to that of the NBA with 12 minute quarters and a three point line similar to what s seen in professional leagues like the NBA Players would also wear merchandise from the Big Baller Brand including shoes and branded uniforms the Junior Basketball Association s logo is set to have a silhouette of his oldest son Lonzo His inspiration for creating the league came from the aftermath of LiAngelo Ball s situation in UCLA which resulted in his removal from the school earlier in December as a response to comments made by NCAA President Mark Emmert On May 1 2018 Ball announced he would look into bringing his youngest son LaMelo into the league to help both upstart it and regain some lost reputation to his name during his time out in Lithuania 101 Three days later his youngest son was announced as a member of the Los Angeles Ballers 102 LiAngelo would also play with his younger brother on July 9 2018 after being undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft and not participating properly in the 2018 NBA Summer League During the inaugural All Star Game on August 3 2018 Ball coached the Western Conference s All Star team which included LiAngelo and LaMelo The West team defeated East 202 189 and LiAngelo won the All Star Game MVP Award for the West Further basketball events Edit Due to his increased exposure Ball put up enough clout to produce certain basketball events in recent years During the months of January and February 2018 back when his sons LiAngelo and LaMelo were playing in Lithuania LaVar created the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games and Big Baller Brand International Tournament respectively The Challenge Games were set up for where Vytautas would play exhibition games against other mostly younger Lithuanian teams to showcase the nation s talent while the International Tournament was a round robin tournament where Vytautas competed against other teams from various countries Vytautas also set up a couple more exhibition games during the Ball brothers time in Lithuania After the conclusion of the 2018 JBA season the league set up an international season to compete against other nations young basketball teams to increase exposure from within The event was projected to last longer into 2019 but a fight during one of the games canceled other games in the season Reactions EditMany of Ball s decisions primarily his comments in the media have raised significant controversy around him and his sons He has often been subject to criticism and praise from several media outlets for various reasons Forbes has labeled him one of the most polarizing figures in sports today 103 He has been labeled outrageous 104 wild and crazy 105 and a moron 106 Multiple notable basketball figures including Kareem Abdul Jabbar have said that Ball has had a negative effect on the sport to some extent 71 107 Philadelphia 76ers teammates Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have attacked Ball on social media while John Wall Kenyon Martin Jerry West and Reggie Miller have also criticized his impact on his children 26 108 109 110 111 Steve Kerr also disregarded Ball calling him the Kardashian of the NBA 112 On the other hand some NBA stars like DeMarcus Cousins Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant have shown support for Ball 113 114 115 Allegations of discriminatory comments Edit On March 25 2017 after Ball s November 2016 prediction that UCLA would win the NCAA championship the team lost to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 round of the tournament with Lonzo pulling a hamstring 116 117 Weeks after the loss Ball said Realistically you can t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow I told Lonzo One of these games you might need to go for 30 or 40 points It turned out that was the one game Then once they get to the Elite 8 they re right there 116 He was presumably referring to his son s three white teammates Bryce Alford T J Leaf and Thomas Welsh 118 119 Lonzo downplayed the remarks viewing them as a joke 120 Brian Mazique of Forbes criticized Ball s comments as plain racist while David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel called them factually correct despite being politically incorrect 121 122 Actor Michael Rapaport recorded a profanity laced rant against Ball as well 123 One day after making the statement Ball clarified by saying I love those guys and instead pushed blame for the loss onto his son 120 Parenting style Edit Since rising to fame Ball s words and actions have sparked significant debate over his parenting which has drawn both praise and criticism 124 125 His parenting style which has produced a wide range of opinions has been compared to those of Richard Williams Earl Woods and Marv Marinovich 126 127 128 Although often praised for raising three high level basketball players and for his entertaining personality Ball has also been condemned for several reasons 125 129 The Globe and Mail has criticized LaVar for trying to get rich off his kids accomplishments labeling him an addict for attention 126 Ball received further disapproval after reportedly declining Lonzo s 10 million shoe contract with Nike Adidas and Under Armour instead continuing with his own company Big Baller Brand 130 Before the 2017 NBA draft Ball was seen as potential baggage that would come with selecting Lonzo due to his frequent bold claims in the media 131 An unnamed NBA general manager has condemned Ball for putting too much pressure on his son Lonzo 130 After Lonzo was picked New York Daily News labeled LaVar Jerk of the Week for making hollow guarantees instead of celebrating for his son 132 On October 3 2017 after Ball removed his son LaMelo from Chino Hills High School to personally train him Nancy Armour of USA Today wrote an article calling Ball the worst sports parent ever 127 Personal life EditBall met his wife Tina Slatinsky at Cal State Los Angeles and they married in 1997 They have three sons Lonzo LiAngelo and LaMelo 133 Lonzo is currently a point guard for the Chicago Bulls LaMelo is a point guard for the Charlotte Hornets and LiAngelo last played shooting guard small forward for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2021 NBA Summer League 134 135 Both LiAngelo and LaMelo were previously signed with the Vytautas Prienai Birstonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League from December 11 2017 until April 25 2018 136 LaVar also was an assistant coach during the fourth game of the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games for the Vytautas Prienai Birstonas on January 23 2018 and was named head coach for the final game of the event five days later 137 He later coached Vytautas once again for the Big Baller Brand International Tournament as well as a couple other exhibition games against other international teams 138 His wife Tina suffered a stroke in 2017 which left her dealing with aphasia in relation to it 139 After his youngest son LaMelo reached four years of age Ball began training all of his sons to play basketball 9 They were taught many skills by their father and later played for his Amateur Athletic Union AAU team Big Ballers VXT 17 For a relatively short period of time in their childhoods Ball also had them play flag football with Lonzo playing quarterback and his other sons catching passes 9 Following an illustrious career at Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills California Lonzo became a star at UCLA Ball s younger sons played at the same high school and originally both committed to UCLA with LiAngelo briefly attending there in 2017 before joining LaMelo out in Lithuania later that year as well as with the Los Angeles Ballers in the JBA 140 Reality television Edit In early July 2017 Deadline Hollywood reported that Facebook would be releasing a reality television show featuring the Ball family It would be a part of a larger project for the social media website to enter the video business 141 After several weeks it was announced that the show called Ball in the Family would exclusively air on Facebook on August 31 with the following episodes airing every Sunday starting on September 10 142 143 It was produced by Bunim Murray Productions which also helped create the reality TV series Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E and Real World on MTV 144 One impact involved with the show was that a local Lithuanian pizza shop named Tango Pizza expanded their business and revamped their menus to fit more of the American cuisine over the prior Italian specialty including a popular special named after LaVar that s the equivalent of a meat lover s pizza 145 On February 15 2018 Ball and his son Lonzo competed against each other on Lip Sync Battle with LaVar winning the episode over his son References Edit LaVar Ball Goes Undercover on Reddit YouTube Twitter and Wikipedia Actually Me GQ Retrieved December 24 2017 Rovell Darren March 14 2017 LaVar Ball wants to package 3 sons for 1 billion shoe deal ESPN Retrieved March 16 2017 a b c Calle Franklyne August 4 2016 Ball Is Life Slam Online Retrieved March 16 2017 LaVar Ball I prefer Lonzo with Lakers to learn from Magic Johnson ESPN February 27 2017 Retrieved March 16 2017 Boone Kyle February 28 2017 Lonzo Ball s father compares son s branding power to Michael Jordan Nike CBS Sports Retrieved March 16 2017 James Jordan March 14 2017 Twitter users troll Lavar Ball with Lavar Ball Says hashtag 247Sports com Retrieved March 17 2017 Boone Roderick September 26 2022 Charlotte Hornets sign LiAngelo Ball to one year NBA deal reuniting him with LaMelo charlotteobserver com Retrieved September 26 2022 LaVar Ball The Football Database Retrieved March 16 2017 a b c d e Stephens Mitch March 26 2016 The Architect Father of the Ball brothers speaks about growth of Chino Hills MaxPreps com Retrieved March 16 2017 LaVar Ball s madness has a method March 28 2017 a b Ripton Ray November 23 1989 Junior Colleges Fast Food Like Coaching Basketball As soon as coaches stuff the players with knowledge of the sport they re on their way Los Angeles Times Retrieved March 17 2017 a b c Ripton Ray December 4 1986 When It Comes to Basketball Oilers Could Be Contenders but the Corsairs Look Like Champs Los Angeles Times Retrieved March 17 2017 That time LaVar Ball was a cocky nobody on Jets camp roster March 27 2017 Retrieved June 24 2017 LaVar Ball says Charles Barkley was favorite player growing up March 19 2019 Dodds Tracy January 28 1988 UCLA Takes on a Surprising Washington State Team Tonight at Pauley Los Angeles Times Retrieved March 17 2017 LaVar Ball Sports Reference com Retrieved March 16 2017 a b Kartje Ryan March 13 2017 The Ballfather LaVar Ball and his 3 sons intend to change basketball forever Orange County Register Retrieved March 16 2017 a b Weiner Natalie March 28 2017 LaVar Ball s Pro Football Career According to His Teammates Was Garbage Bleacher Report Retrieved August 3 2017 Transactions The New York Times March 7 1995 Retrieved March 17 2017 LaVar Ball Statistics JustSportsStats com Retrieved March 17 2017 Lonzo Ball USA Basketball Archived from the original on April 5 2016 Retrieved March 16 2017 Was LaVar Ball actually once a Carolina Panther Parrish Gary July 30 2015 The Ball family coming to a basketball court and TV near you CBSSports com Retrieved August 3 2017 Eisenberg Jeff November 26 2016 UCLA not fazed by Lonzo Ball s father guaranteeing a national title Yahoo Sports Retrieved August 3 2017 Parrish Gary December 15 2016 Lavar Ball says son Lonzo and both UCLA bound brothers will be one and done CBSSports com Retrieved August 3 2017 a b c Bolch Ben February 20 2017 LaVar Ball s boasts about sons including UCLA star Lonzo draw strong reactions Los Angeles Times Retrieved March 16 2017 a b Boone Kyle March 17 2017 LaVar Ball finally said it Lonzo not LeBron is the best player in the world CBS Sports Retrieved March 17 2017 a b Peter Josh March 13 2017 LaVar Ball and his boys are here to change the world USA Today Retrieved October 10 2017 Hanzus Dan March 14 2017 Le Veon Bell takes apart LaVar Ball s bad Jordan boast NFL Retrieved October 10 2017 Cato Tim March 16 2017 LaVar Ball who averaged 2 points in college still thinks he would ve cooked Michael Jordan 1 on 1 SB Nation Retrieved October 10 2017 Who is LaVar Ball Sports Illustrated March 24 2017 Retrieved October 10 2017 McCarthy Michael March 26 2017 LaVar Ball returning to ESPN s First Take sorry America Sporting News Retrieved October 10 2017 LaVar Ball And Stephen A Have Intense Shouting Match YouTube March 23 2017 Retrieved October 14 2017 LaVar Ball says he ll play Michael Jordan 1 on 1 on pay per view for 200 million Lonzo Wire November 26 2020 Retrieved December 8 2020 NBA 2K Finally Gives Fans The Michael Jordan vs LaVar Ball 1 On 1 Duel fadeawayworld net December 4 2020 Retrieved December 8 2020 Yalung Brian December 4 2020 Michael Jordan And LaVar Ball Go One On One In Video Game Simulation Find Out Who Won Latin Times Retrieved December 8 2020 a b Boone Kyle November 11 2017 LiAngelo Ball other players arrested have to stay in China for a week or two CBS Sports Retrieved February 15 2018 McCann Michael November 7 2017 LiAngelo Ball UCLA Teammates Could Face Chinese Jail Time Sports Illustrated Retrieved February 15 2018 Wetzler Dan November 7 2017 LiAngelo Ball and UCLA teammates could face 3 10 years in prison if convicted of shoplifting Yahoo Sports Retrieved February 15 2018 Erickson Amanda November 22 2017 Trump says the shoplifting UCLA players faced 10 years in jail That s wrong The Washington Post Retrieved February 15 2018 a b Markazi Arash November 19 2017 LaVar Ball greatly downplayed Donald Trump s role in UCLA freshmen s release ESPN Retrieved February 15 2018 LaVar Ball tweets at Trump CNN December 7 2017 Retrieved February 15 2018 New timeline of UCLA s incident in China contradicts comments made by Trump others Yahoo Sports March 3 2018 Retrieved March 5 2018 Lauletta Tyler November 19 2017 I should have left them in jail Trump responds to LaVar Ball belittling his role in son s release from China Business Insider Retrieved February 15 2018 Boone Kyle November 20 2017 Trump calls LaVar Ball very ungrateful says son s shoplifting not big deal to father CBS Sports Retrieved February 15 2018 Gaines Cork November 20 2017 CNN interview with LaVar Ball goes off the rails as he tries to explain why he dismissed Trump s help Business Insider Retrieved February 15 2018 Freedom du Lac J Nakamura David November 22 2017 Poor man s version of Don King Trump continues his war of words with LaVar Ball The Washington Post Retrieved February 15 2018 LiAngelo Ball 2 UCLA Teammates Suspended Indefinitely After China Scandal KCBS TV November 15 2017 Retrieved February 15 2018 Perez A J December 4 2017 LaVar Ball pulls son LiAngelo Ball out of UCLA USA Today Retrieved February 15 2018 NBA LaVar Ball Donald Trump beef reignites J R Smith throws soup at coach Fox Sports March 4 2018 Retrieved March 5 2018 LaVar Ball on Donald Trump He should have been doing something else August 5 2018 LaVar Ball calls Donald Trump racist August 11 2018 Donald Trump rehashes beef with LaVar Ball during White House press conference February 25 2019 LaVar Ball says he won t vote for Donald Trump in 2020 election March 21 2019 Dedaj Paulina November 18 2020 LaVar Ball says Trump lost reelection because of their 2017 feud He would still be president Fox News Retrieved December 8 2020 Pincus Eric November 21 2017 LaVar Ball Luke Walton Have Vastly Different Approaches to Developing Youth Bleacher Report Retrieved May 1 2022 Report Los Angeles Lakers enforcing LaVar Ball rule at home games NBA com December 4 2017 Retrieved May 1 2022 Shelburne Ramona December 13 2017 LaVar Ball on meeting with Lakers Just want what s best for Lonzo Retrieved May 1 2022 LaVar Ball critical of Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton NBC com January 7 2018 Retrieved May 1 2022 Tim Reynolds January 8 2018 LaVar Ball tells ESPN Luke Walton has lost Los Angeles Lakers coaches react NBA com Associated Press Retrieved May 1 2022 Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss tweets support for coach Luke Walton NBA com January 13 2018 Retrieved May 1 2022 Martin Josh May 12 2018 LaVar Ball shares one reason he loves Magic Johnson Rob Pelinka lonzowire USATODAY com Retrieved May 1 2022 Martin Josh June 13 2018 LaVar Ball buries beef with Lakers Luke Walton He s a good coach lonzowire USATODAY com Retrieved May 1 2022 Lonzo Ball reportedly fires business partner Alan Foster over 1 5 million in missing money March 22 2019 Launching BigBallerBrand com April 14 2016 Archived from the original on September 9 2017 Retrieved February 14 2018 Lonzo Ball revealed to own 51 percent of Big Baller Brand Lonzo Wire March 22 2019 Glasspiegel Ryan March 7 2017 LaVar Ball Claps Back at Barkley The Big Lead Retrieved October 17 2017 Fenno Nathan March 22 2017 Does the Ball family s Big Baller Brand skirt NCAA rules Experts say yes but LaVar Ball doesn t care Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 17 2017 Gregory Sean March 15 2017 How One Family Is Beating the NCAA at Its Own Game Time Retrieved October 17 2017 Chiari Mike April 20 2017 LaVar Ball Worst Thing to Happen to Basketball in Last 100 Years Per Nike Exec Bleacher Report Retrieved June 21 2017 a b c LaVar Ball responds to Nike exec Big Baller Brand about to be your competition Sports Illustrated April 21 2017 Retrieved June 21 2017 Rovell Darren April 30 2017 Nike Under Armour Adidas not interested in deal with Lonzo Ball ESPN Retrieved June 21 2017 Chiari Mike April 28 2017 Nike More Pass on Lonzo Ball After Father LaVar Asks for Big Baller Licensing Bleacher Report Retrieved June 21 2017 Joseph Andrew May 8 2017 LaVar Ball claims that he s sold at least 495 pairs of Lonzo s 495 shoes For The Win Retrieved June 21 2017 Tracy Marc May 5 2017 At 495 Lonzo Ball s ZO2 Sneakers Have Tastemakers Saying No Thanks The New York Times Retrieved June 21 2017 a b c d Bieler Des May 5 2017 Big Baller Brand s 500 shoes are another shameless and smart move by LaVar Ball The Washington Post Retrieved June 21 2017 Bushnell Henry May 4 2017 Shaq calls out LaVar Ball for price of Lonzo s signature shoe Yahoo Sports Retrieved June 21 2017 a b c d Goodman Jeff September 1 2017 LaVar Ball on son s NCAA eligibility If he can t play then he can t play ESPN Retrieved September 4 2017 Big Baller Brand Drops Shoe For LaMelo Ball Raising Questions About Future NCAA Eligibility Sports Business Daily September 1 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 Nathan Alec September 3 2017 LaVar Ball NCAA Ain t Going to Tell Me S t About LaMelo s Signature Shoe Bleacher Report Retrieved September 4 2017 Polacek Scott December 4 2017 LiAngelo Ball to Get Signature Gelo 3 Big Baller Brand Shoe After Leaving UCLA Bleacher Report Retrieved February 12 2018 Big Baller Brand teasing sale of LiAngelo Ball s G3 Lux signature shoe May 1 2018 LaVar Ball reveals name of Tina Ball s future Big Baller Brand shoe May 3 2018 Scandal is tanking Big Baller Brand and LaVar Ball s in trouble March 25 2019 Lonzo Ball s manager posts video of him throwing away Big Baller Brand sneakers March 25 2019 LaVar Ball vows to make it right with Lonzo Big Baller Brand amid allegations March 23 2019 Report Ball family has discussed folding Big Baller Brand March 25 2019 Amick Sam December 11 2018 LaMelo LiAngelo Ball sign with Lithuanian pro team USA Today Retrieved February 14 2018 Rapaport Daniel January 5 2018 Prienu Vytautas to Play in Big Baller Brand Challenge Games Sports Illustrated Retrieved February 14 2018 a b Lauletta Tyler January 9 2018 Over 100 000 people watched LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball s Lithuanian debut on Facebook and they were treated to a huge ad for Big Baller Brand Business Insider Retrieved February 14 2018 Martin Josh February 2 2018 LaVar Ball paid a lot of money for Big Baller Brand to sponsor LiAngelo LaMelo s team Lonzo Ball Wire Retrieved February 11 2018 LiAngelo LaMelo Ball s coach reveals how much LaVar paid to save team March 16 2018 LaVar Ball loves life in Lithuania everything is pure February 19 2018 LaVar Ball rips LiAngelo LaMelo s coach My boys got worse March 20 2018 LiAngelo LaMelo Ball s coach not bothered by LaVar s nonsense April 19 2018 Lithuanian coach Ball family came here for show not for basketball April 25 2018 LaVar Ball Everything went exactly as planned in Lithuania May 2 2018 LaVar LiAngelo LaMelo Ball thank Vytautas fans before leaving Lithuania April 28 2018 LaVar Ball sons tried to destroy Lithuanian team coach says LaVar plans to start league for HS grads December 20 2017 LaVar Ball says he will make LaMelo Ball the face of his JBA league May 2 2018 LaMelo Ball to join Los Angeles Ballers in LaVar Ball s JBA league May 4 2018 Mazique Brian March 14 2017 LaVar Ball Marketing Genius Out Of Control Dad Or Both Forbes Retrieved August 3 2017 Ward Henninger Colin July 13 2017 Ranking LaVar Ball s most outrageous quotes CBS Sports Retrieved October 17 2017 Douglas Stephen August 30 2017 Early LaVar Ball Video Different Era Same Wild and Crazy Guy The Big Lead Retrieved October 17 2017 Philipps Ryan May 5 2017 LaVar Ball Isn t A Marketing Genius He s A Moron The Big Lead Retrieved October 17 2017 Daniels Tim June 17 2017 Kareem Abdul Jabbar Says LaVar Ball Is Bad for College Basketball Bleacher Report Retrieved October 17 2017 Kay Stanley June 1 2017 Jerry West on LaVar Ball I wouldn t want a father like that Sports Illustrated Retrieved October 17 2017 Kenyon Martin would not subject himself or his kids to LaVar Ball s antics Fox Sports August 3 2017 Retrieved October 17 2017 Kerr Jeff June 22 2017 Joel Embiid Ben Simmons fire shots at Lavar Ball 247Sports com Retrieved October 17 2017 Conway Tyler Reggie Miller Rips LaVar Ball Says LiAngelo LaMelo Have No Shot at NBA Janie McCauley Associated Press Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr calls Lavar Ball the Kardashian of the NBA National Basketball Association com DeMarcus Cousins Thinks LaVar Ball is a Legend April 10 2017 Martin Josh February 18 2018 Dwyane Wade is in LaVar Ball s corner He s crazy over his kids Lonzo Ball Wire Retrieved April 2 2018 Martin Josh April 1 2018 Kevin Durant loves LaVar Ball but disagrees with him on these things Lonzo Ball Wire Retrieved April 2 2018 a b Taylor Clay April 6 2017 LaVar Ball blames foot speed of white guys for UCLA downfall Los Angeles Daily News Retrieved October 11 2017 Rosenberg Michael March 25 2017 De Aaron Fox gets the best of Lonzo Ball as Kentucky wins showdown with UCLA Sports Illustrated Retrieved October 11 2017 LaVar Ball UCLA was too slow to win title with three white guys ESPN April 6 2017 Retrieved April 7 2017 Goldberg Rob April 6 2017 LaVar Ball Says UCLA Didn t Win Title Because White Players Are Too Slow Bleacher Report Retrieved October 11 2017 a b LaVar Ball says white guys comment was misunderstood I love those guys ESPN April 7 2017 Retrieved October 11 2017 Mazique Brian April 7 2017 Lonzo Ball Needs To Have A Man To Man Talk With His Dad Forbes Retrieved October 11 2017 Whitley David April 14 2017 LaVar Ball stumbles upon one taboo truth Orlando Sentinel Retrieved October 11 2017 Wertz Jr Langston April 9 2017 After startling UCLA white guy comments LaVar Ball now coaching his son in summer ball The Charlotte Observer Retrieved August 3 2017 Cook Bob March 11 2017 Is LaVar Ball A Bad Sports Parent Forbes Retrieved October 11 2017 a b Wilmes John March 2 2017 You Wish Your Dad was LaVar Ball Stop Hating on Him Vice Retrieved October 11 2017 a b Kelly Cathal June 22 2017 Kelly How Bad Sports Parent LaVar Ball could be good news for NBA The Globe and Mail Retrieved October 11 2017 a b Armour Nancy October 3 2017 It s official LaVar Ball is worst sports parent ever USA Today Retrieved October 11 2017 Boren Cindy March 28 2017 LaVar Ball the NCAA dad who won t stop boasting Overbearing parent or marketing genius The Washington Post Retrieved October 11 2017 Wong Alex June 18 2017 LaVar Ball Father of the Year SportsOnEarth com Retrieved October 11 2017 a b Daniels Tim May 30 2017 LaVar Ball Reportedly Declined 10 Million Lonzo Shoe Deal Bleacher Report Retrieved October 11 2017 Berman Marc May 13 2017 NBA insiders open up on how much LaVar Ball hurts Lonzo New York Post Retrieved October 11 2017 Grossman Evan June 23 2017 LaVar Ball once again Jerk of the Week after stealing son Lonzo s moment at NBA draft Daily News New York Retrieved October 11 2017 Goldstein Patrick May 13 2016 How This Family of Prodigies Turned a Public School into a Basketball Powerhouse Los Angeles magazine Sources LaMelo LiAngelo Ball exploring options to play professionally overseas LaMelo Ball thrilled to play for Hornets Jordan NBA com www nba com Retrieved November 21 2020 LaVar Ball pulling LiAngelo LaMelo from Lithuania over coach dispute April 25 2018 LaVar Ball to be assistant coach for LiAngelo and LaMelo s team for friendly in Lithuania ESPN January 23 2018 Retrieved January 23 2018 LaVaras dar karta stos prie Vytauto vairo BasketNews lt in Lithuanian February 24 2018 Retrieved February 24 2018 Ball in the Family explains Tina Ball s speech condition December 25 2017 Schilken Chuck March 14 2017 LaVar Ball father of UCLA star Lonzo Ball says he could have beaten Michael Jordan one on one Chicago Tribune Retrieved March 16 2017 Medcalf Myron July 5 2017 LaVar Ball and family to star in reality TV series on Facebook ESPN Retrieved September 4 2017 Joseph Andrew August 30 2017 LaVar Ball predictably dominates new trailer for the Ball family s reality show For The Win Retrieved September 4 2017 The Ball family s new reality show to air Aug 31 ESPN August 30 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 LaVar Ball family to star in reality show on Facebook NBA August 30 2017 Retrieved September 4 2017 LaVar Ball turned this Prienai pizza shop into a Lithuanian hot spot May 5 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title LaVar Ball amp oldid 1140110770, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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