Balling Up to the Hype

From little league to collegiate sports, there is always that obnoxious parent who believes their child is the best thing since sliced bread. These parents take pride in letting everyone know that their child is the best, and go to great lengths to show unconditional support for them.
However, Lavar Ball has taken the role of supportive dad to a new level.
In some respects, the Balls are like many typical American families. A dad, a mom, and three boys. However, it is quite rare to find a family of stellar athletes like this group of five.
Lavar Ball played collegiate basketball and football before having stints on Arena League Teams and NFL Practice Squads. He met his wife, Tina while she was attending Cal State, Los Angeles.
Both being collegiate basketball players, it was only fitting that they would give birth to three basketball prodigies.
Their oldest son, Lonzo, is currently the starting point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. After exceptional high school and college careers, Lonzo was taken with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and has the potential to emerge as one of the NBA’s next superstars.
LiAngelo Ball is the second born of the trio and is currently a guard for the UCLA Bruins.
In 2016, as a junior, he won the CIF Open Division state championship with his two brothers and helped the team become the consensus number 1 team in the nation.
As a senior, he led the team in scoring with 33.8 points per game.
Lavar Ball has gone on record to say that his youngest son has the most superstar potential of the three.
At 16 years old, LaMelo Ball has been verbally committed to the UCLA Bruins since the age of 13. Earlier this year, his father decided to home-school him so that he may be able to focus on basketball.
All of the sons have been coached by their father and took the AAU circuit by storm with their team Big Ballers VXT.
Lavar Ball has redefined the role as an athlete’s parent. After his astronomical offer, of $3 billion dollars for a shoe deal with Nike was unquestionably denied, he made the audacious decision to create his own brand of athletic apparel called “Big Baller Brand”.
He has received excessive criticism for his obnoxious behavior and the amount of attention he has brought to himself and his sons. Ball has compared his son to Magic Johnson and gone on to say that his son was better than 2 time NBA MVP, Stephen Curry.
It can be agreed that Lavar Ball is one of the most polarizing figures in the world of sports today. Some believe he is a complete idiot while others believe he is a marketing mastermind. However, one thing can be agreed upon. He has gone all in with his sons.
Whether it be him creating his own shoe brand, buying his son a Lamborghini or telling the world that his sons are the best. Lavar Ball has shown that he is completely behind his sons. While his tactics may be questionable, you couldn’t ask for a parent to do more for their children.
It remains to be seen whether his sons will live up to the hype, but whether they do or not their father will always support them.