LaVar Ball, the father of Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, has made a lot of bold statement in recent months, both about his sons and himself.
Among them are that Lonzo is already better than two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, he said that Lonzo was going to be drafted by the Lakers months before it happened and that he was going to “speak it into existence,” but perhaps the boldest statement he made involved the best basketball player of all-time, Michael Jordan.
LaVar, who’s highest level of basketball was college, said that he could beat Jordan in a one-on-one game back when they were both in their prime. Jordan stayed quiet for a while, but on Tuesday he was asked a question about LaVar at a basketball camp in Santa Barbara, and Jordan was quiet no more.
He began by saying that he think Lonzo has a lot of potential to be a great player, but LaVar needs to stop talking and just let him play, via Bay Area HQ:
“But I would say, if I had to sit down and talk to him right now – if you guys were not here – I’d tell him to shut up and just let the kids play.”
He then addressed LaVar’s one-on-one comments, and the response was quiet hilarious:
“You guys have to understand the source. He played, I think, college, maybe? He averaged 2.2 points a game. Really? It doesn’t deserve an answer, but I’m going to give it to you because you asked the question. I don’t think he could beat me if I was one-legged.”
When LaVar originally made the statement, he cited his size as a reason that Jordan would have trouble with him, but Jordan’s sheer talent and skill would likely spell trouble for LaVar.
Most people took LaVar’s comments as a joke when he originally made them and based on Jordan’s response, he thinks the same thing.