Without saying a word, LeBron James appeared to troll Lonzo Ball prior to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game against the Chicago Bulls. James could be seen mimicking Ball’s unorthodox shooting motion during pre-game warmups. While the two have not directly had a feud, James has exchanged words with his father, LaVar Ball, through the media.
After Ball noted that James does not have time to help develop his kid’s games, James responded. “Keep my kids’ name out of your mouth. Keep my family out of your mouth. This is dad to dad. It’s a problem now,” James told ESPN in response to LaVar’s comments.
James would go on to praise Ball’s game but took exception to his father’s comments about his family. “I actually like [Lonzo]. I like his game. He can talk all about his brand, talk about his sons, talk about basketball, talk about me, but keep my family out of this,” James told ESPN.
The feud started after LaVar spoke about the pressure on LeBron’s sons on Chris Broussard’s podcast. “You got LeBron — it’s going to be hard for his kids because they are going to look at them like, ‘You got to be just like your dad, and after a while, that pressure starts sitting on you like, ‘Why do I got to be just like him? What can’t I just be me?’ And then they are going to be like, ‘Aw, you’re soft. You’re not that good.’ Because the expectation is very, very high,” LaVar said (via SB Nation).
LaVar responded to James by telling Fox Sports Radio he had no issues with James’s parenting style.
I have no problem with LeBron, they asked me a question about if I thought superstar players’ kids were good. My opinion is I’ve never seen one that’s been really good. LeBron is going to make his kids one of the best players ever according to him. I’ve never seen one really live up to what their dad has done, so he could be the first. It’s not about me having his kids name in my mouth, I’m not worried about his family. If somebody asks me a question I’ll answer it the way I want to answer it.
Heavy has Ball projected as the top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft in my latest mock draft. He is thought to be battling Markelle Fultz for the top selection.
Was James trolling Ball’s shooting form? You decide for yourself. Here’s a closer look at Ball’s shooting form:
Learn more about Ball’s father, mother and brothers as Heavy breaks down the basketball family.
