ESPN caught up with LaVar Ball on the streets of New York City on Wednesday, June 21, and got the braggadocious shot caller dad before a camera. Ball was approached by Jeff Goodman, who picked his brain on what he was feeling concerning top prospect son Lonzo, heading into Thursday night's draft. Of course, LaVar couldn't contain his response to the Lakers and their probable draftee, instead selecting to predict that he will be back next year when LiAngelo is up for the taking, and staking the family's claim for the future of the league.
“After 5 years when everybody gone. You gon’ look at the Ball boys and be like ‘oh my God how he get all three of them in the league’," said the BBB boss, as he strolled flanked by a couple of guys from his Big Baller Brand camp. "LeBron be on his way out, Steph Curry be on [his way out], they gettin’ old. Somebody gotta carry the NBA.”
Most take it for a foregone conclusion that the Lakers are eager to jump on board with the plan to cultivate the Ball clan into a hometown story, in much the same way LeBron paved a road from his native streets to the city's NBA arena out in Cleveland. The stage is set for a similar outcome in L.A., where Lonzo's two brothers have been rising through the high school ranks and into college with the same seamlessness he did.
As it stands, LiAngelo will follow in his big brother's footsteps, having decided in April to commit to UCLA after averaging 30.6 points per game at Chino Hills H.S. And LaMelo will be coming right behind him, with a verbal commitment that he reportedly made to UCLA when he was only 13 years old. After the sensational sophomore season he enjoyed at Chino Hills, despite a knock on him for cherry-picking points and a horrid performance he put on against Compton in May, LaMelo might actually be the most promising of the Ball trio considering he's got two more years to develop before he laces up in the NCAA.
Source: instagram.com
