Lavar Ball and his comments concerning his children have been a hot topic in recent weeks. In expressing his support for his kids and increased confidence in their skills, he’s mentioned the progenies of a few big-named ballers, comparing them to the Ball boys.
Most recently, Ball spoke on LeBron James’ children, saying the Ball boys, including UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, are set up better than James’ kids. Despite the fact that James’ eldest son, LeBron James Jr., better known by his nickname Bronny, is already a basketball beast with offers from Duke and Kentucky, Ball says the 12-year-old and his younger siblings will fold under pressure when trying to be like their father.
“The monsters in the NBA, their dads wasn’t that good,” Ball said on Chris Broussard’s podcast. “They were OK, they were players, but the fact that the old (Dell) Curry wasn’t no All-Star, he wasn’t cold. He could shoot the ball, though. Kobe Bryant, his dad wasn’t all that, that’s why he’s such a monster,” he said.
“You got LeBron, it’s going to be hard for his kids because they are going to look at them like, ‘You got to be just like your dad,” Ball continued. “And after a while, that pressure starts sitting on you like, ‘Why do I got to be just like him? What can’t I just be me?’ And then they are going to be like, ‘Aw, you’re soft, you’re not that good.’ Because the expectation is very, very high.”
However, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James shut the former baller down, sending a message from one father to another, telling him to keep his kids out of it.
“Keep my kids’ name out of your mouth, keep my family out of your mouth,” James told ESPN. “This is dad to dad. It’s a problem now.”
“He can talk all about his brand, talk about his sons, talk about basketball, talk about me,” James added. “But, keep my family out of this.”
