Ah, LaVar Ball. Hate him or hate him, it’s hard not to have an opinion, and it’s also hard to avoid him, no matter how hard you try.
Today’s update: LaVar was coaching his Big Ballers AAU team, featuring his son LaMelo of “92 points scored in the worst high school basketball game of all time” fame. He was wearing his stupid sexist t-shirt, and there’s video of his inspirational halftime speech to the team:
The team apparently didn’t benefit much, as they got absolutely run by Compton Magic, 109-57. That’s objectively funny, and emblematic of the Ball family’s emphasis on icing over cake. Also great: opposing players weren’t hesitating to heckle LaVar as he coached. Here’s the above-mentioned Josh Peter, for USA Today:
Timmy Allen, who heckled Ball while running up and down the court at times Saturday while shutting down LaMelo, made sure to catch Ball’s attention after the crowd-pleasing dunk that put Compton ahead 74-24.
“I don’t like to back down to anybody, no matter who you are and LaVar is nobody different,’’ Allen told USA TODAY Sports. “So I said some stuff back.’’
Among the words Allen directed at Ball: “Big Baller, what?”
And it’s this kind of situation that is going to dog all of the Ball children, no matter how good they end up being at the college or professional level. (My own prediction: they’re not going to be good NBA players, for a variety of reasons.)
To that end, their father is failing them miserably. Unless he’s all too aware of the limits of the long-term appeal for the Ball name, and is trying for the most high-profile quick cash grab of all time before they get exposed, much like he was when video of LaVar’s rec league action came out.
But frankly, it seems more likely he’s just a belligerent, insecure man. Let’s not give him credit for much foresight.