LaVar Ball Told Son LiAngelo He Won't Make It to NBA

In true LaVar Ball fashion, he already has an alternative plan mapped out for his son LiAngelo.

Lavar Ball looks on in the stands before the game between the UCLA and Washington State.
USA Today Sports

Image via USA Today Sports/Richard Mackson

Lavar Ball looks on in the stands before the game between the UCLA and Washington State.

It's been a whirlwind few months for LaVar Ball and his three sons, LiAngelo, LaMelo, and Lonzo. But as things were just starting to pick up back in February, GQ staff writer Zach Baron stopped by their Chino Hills, California home for the first of many visits as he pieced together a profile on the Ball family.

During his first time in the presence of the entire Ball family, LaVar was, well, LaVar. He was candid and also maybe a little too honest while talking about the idea of all three of his sons playing in the NBA one day. "I told my boys that one of them wasn’t going to make it. Because if you’ve got three, only one, maybe two make it to the NBA," he confessed. And instead of letting them wonder which son that will be, LaVar admitted that he's already told his middle son LiAngelo that it will probably be him.

"He’s going to be taken care of either way," LaVar added, hinting that LiAngelo could be a model because he's "the handsomest of his sons." In true motherly fashion, LaVar's wife Tina responded by saying, "All my boys are handsome." And when LaVar suggested that his youngest son LaMelo has the most star power, Tina was quick to provide an "all my boys are special" retort, saying, "They all have star power." 

With each subsequent meeting at the Ball family's residence, Baron noticed Tina was nowhere to be found. During his last face-to-face discussion with LaVar, he questioned her whereabouts. It turned out Tina had a stroke shortly after his first visit. "Everybody had their own speculations on what’s going on," LaVar said. "'Oh, Tina left LaVar because he talk too much. I haven’t seen her.' Y’all can do whatever the heck you want. I know what’s going on. I don’t have to say nothing," he said.

In her stead, LaVar handled the cooking, cleaning, and washing of the boys' clothes, in addition to caring for his wife and reassuring his kids that their mother was going to be okay. After all, LaVar didn't want anything to stand in the way of his (and their) NBA dream.  

Elsewhere in the GQ piece, LaVar talked about how he has had his sons' futures mapped out for years now, right down to the minor details. When LaMelo and LiAngelo grew up, they were left-handed before LaVar "changed that." When Melo was a child, he would occasionally revert back to being a lefty, so LaVar took drastic measures. "We had to get a rope, tie it, and I just had to use my right the whole time," LaMelo recalled. Why would LaVar force his children to be right-handed? Well, the answer is simple. "Because they would mess up the eating at the table. If you left-handed, you next to me," he admitted. 

Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.

Latest in Sports