When Lonzo Ball began his NBA journey, his father LaVar was right there every step of the way, quickly earning fame in the NBA community for his outlandish and unfiltered takes.
LaVar has simmered down a lot since then, but he does make the occasional appearance every now and then.
Recently TMZ caught up with him to have a quick chat about his sons. The status of LiAngelo (who has not yet made an NBA roster) naturally came up, and LaVar scolded the G-League for not giving his son enough of the spotlight he feels he deserves.
“He’s just practicing and doing his thing. They don’t understand what they got. They need to let my boy go ahead and play. I dropped them a superstar in the G-League and they don’t know what to do with him. He might get picked up this season but if he doesn’t, it’s okay because he’s gonna play with all his brothers.”
He also called on a new team to take a chance on Gelo: the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I already said the Lakers but then they got rid of ‘Zo. Then I said Charlotte. Y’all got him right in your back door! Bring him in, let him play with Melo! Now, I got a new destination… L.A. Clippers here we come!”
The darkest moment for LiAngelo came years ago when he was kicked out of UCLA for a shoplifting incident in China. Nobody thought he would ever recover, but he says the moment helped him grow into the person he is today.
“It made me who I am today. I done dealt with so much. I done heard everything — good and bad. Nothing really bothers me. My skin is thick. When I play today, I just keep that same energy. For sure, people cast judgment. I was young, I don’t look back on that. I just learned from it and kept pushing. I’m not gonna let one decision mess up my whole life,” Gelo told The Athletic.
Since then, Gelo has been facing an uphill battle on his path to stardom and it remains to be seen if he’ll ever make the jump to the NBA.
Gelo is currently playing for the Greensboro Swarm, where he’s averaging 9.3 points per game on 57% shooting.
