LaVar Ball tends to cause a stir whenever he opens his mouth, and he did it again during an appearance on the Ball in the Family Podcast. LaVar was asked when he started believing his sons could make the NBA, and had the kind of response you’d only get from him.
“Come on, dude,” LaVar said. “How early? Are you kidding me?… From me picking my wife before they even came out the womb. I told they born to go pro. That’s all I’ve been telling them. With last name Ball, what you think they was going to do?”
LaVar and his wife, Tina, had crossed paths during their time at California State University. They both played college basketball, and the former was confident that their children would be successful on the court as well.
Lonzo Ball is their eldest son, and the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the second pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Having one child become a top-three pick is incredible in itself, but LaVar and Tina have two of them. The Charlotte Hornets then selected LaMelo Ball, their youngest son, with the third pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Unfortunately for LaVar, his second son, LiAngelo Ball, couldn’t make it three out of three. He went undrafted in 2018 and played in the G League and overseas.
LiAngelo is now a rapper, and LaVar is proud of him. As for his brothers, well, LaMelo is still a star today, but a series of injuries has led to Lonzo being out of the league. He last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who sent him to the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline. The Jazz waived him the same day, and you wonder if his NBA career is over.
Lonzo is a full-time podcaster these days and asked LaVar if his daughter would have made the NBA as well if he had one.
“Stop it,” LaVar stated. “I won’t have no daughter… Man, I’m the alpha dog. I ain’t going to have nothing but boys. You guys a little soft with these women. Y’all having little girls… I ain’t saying nothing wrong with no daughter. I’m just saying. You have some boys.”
LaVar has never cared about how his comments might go down and isn’t about to now. He was referring there to Lonzo only having a daughter named Zoey Christina Ball.
LiAngelo, on the other hand, has three children with two women. He was once in a relationship with former reality TV star Nikki Mudarris and has a son, LaVelo Anthony Ball, and a daughter, LaNiyah Nicole Ball, with her. LiAngelo was then briefly married to influencer Rashida Nicole in 2025 and has a daughter named Lilo Legacy Ball with her.
LaVar, CEO of Big Baller Brand, is delighted about the fact that he at least has one grandson. He says LaVelo is huge and perhaps we might see him in the NBA someday.
As for LaVar himself, the 58-year-old suffered a major setback last year. His right foot was amputated due to a serious medical issue, but he remains in good spirits. LaVar thinks he can still beat Michael Jordan 1-on-1, and he just has limitless confidence.
