LaVar Ball continues to steal the spotlight from his son Lonzo nearing the NBA draft

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The rise of 19 year-old UCLA basketball star Lonzo Ball has directly led to the growing fame of his father LaVar Ball. Since the beginning of the college basketball season, LaVar has dominated sports news. Whether he is hyping up the talent of his three sons, discrediting the sons of other famous basketball players or going on a tirade of trash talking to anyone who gets in his way, LaVar cannot seem to get enough attention.

The eldest son, Lonzo Ball, has just finished his freshman year at UCLA and is entering in the 2017 NBA Draft. Before even stepping on an NBA court, however, the Ball family is already marketing their own shoe brand. Big Baller Brand, as LaVar named it, recently released its first shoe design, causing an uproar as it is almost a direct copy of the Kobe 10s. Furthermore, the shoe brand is failing to gain respect from any other NBA players, as some are even predicting that Lonzo will be the biggest bust in the draft. Even high school students remain unimpressed with the shoe brand.

“Because the Balls are the hottest new family in sports, I expected a lot from the new shoes,” said junior basketball player Ryan Gesas. “I was planning on buying a pair, but the design is disappointingly plain and the cost is far too high.”

LaVar himself has little real basketball experience. After playing a year at West Los Angeles College, he transferred to Washington State for the remainder of his brief career. During his span at Washington State, Ball averaged 2.2 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists. However, he has claimed that he can beat Michael Jordan one-on-one.

The most vocal rivalry has been the war of words between LaVar Ball and basketball legend Charles Barkley. During March Madness, college basketball anchor Charles Barkley wore the jersey of every team UCLA was playing against in an effort to protest LaVar’s ego.

“Listen, you need to slow your roll,” said Barkley. “He says I didn’t win a championship. I said to myself, ‘I need to go back and Google this guy, because maybe I missed the Ball era, when he was dominating and winning championships everywhere else.’ No guy who averaged two points a game can beat me one-on-one.”

LaVar has also continued to disrespect big names such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Earlier in the year, LaVar began talking trash about LeBron James’ son, claiming that he would never be as good as any of his own sons. Most recently, LaVar attempted to discredit the use of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as a mentor, claiming that Kobe is not reliable for anything.

“Everything LaVar does, I would choose to do it the opposite way,” said junior Jace Pitcher.

This is just the beginning of the Ball era, as LaVar has two younger sons coming up through the ranks. His two younger sons currently play at Chino Hills High School, a Southern California powerhouse in basketball. The middle son is senior small forward Liangelo Ball, and the youngest son is sophomore guard Lamelo Ball. Both have already committed to UCLA, and seem to be on the fast-track to the NBA Draft.

Perhaps the most controversial public figure in the basketball world right now, LaVar Ball cannot seem to get enough of himself. Perhaps this is the beginning of a long era of LaVar trash talking in the news 24/7, or perhaps he will burn out if the Ball boys do not meet the high expectations set by their father. The 2017 NBA Draft is approaching, and only time will tell if Lonzo Ball will become the Laker legend his father hopes for him to become.