The Los Angeles Lakers landed the second overall pick in the NBA draft lottery, which appears to have put them in a great position to draft UCLA guard Lonzo Ball on June 22nd. Ball is an exciting young player who is known for his passing skills and shooting ability, but also comes with some serious question marks, with one being whether or not teams will be scared off by his extroverted father, LaVar.
Still, Lonzo has a number of fans in the NBA world, and that includes some current Lakers. Larry Nance Jr. recently appeared on the Marcellus and Kelvin Show on ESPNLA and took the opportunity to praise Ball:
“I didn’t get to catch too much college basketball this year, but from the highlights and clips I’ve seen, he seems awesome. Pass first guy, can knock down the open shot, kinda the whole package. If you are going to go top five you kinda have to be.”
Nance managed to succinctly summarize what has everyone so enamored with Ball’s abilities on the floor, but he didn’t stop there. The Lakers forward also weighed in on LaVar:
“With his dad, that’s just a supportive parent. You know, each parent chooses to support their kid in different ways and that’s his way. Whether you agree with it or disagree with it, he believes in his kid 100 percent and you gotta respect that.”
LaVar may rub some people the wrong way with his over-the-top antics, but Nance does bring up a good point that, at the end of the day, he’s doing what he believes will help his kids. It may not be what someone else would do, but LaVar is doing what he feels is right.
Regardless, once Lonzo is drafted, his play on the floor will do all the talking. For as much as his father likes to talk up his son, Lonzo will have to live up to the hype on the court.