LeBron James to LaVar Ball: Keep my kids’ names out of your mouth

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James is the latest person to speak against LaVar Ball.  (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)

In just a matter of months, LaVar Ball has flooded basketball headlines with his bold and, more often than not, absurd proclamations.

The outspoken father of three basketball prodigies—UCLA star Lonzo and high school phenoms LiAngelo and LaMelo—said he would have beaten Michael Jordan in his “heyday.” He also waged a word war with Charles Barkley and boasted that his eldest son was better than Stephen Curry.

Recently, the Ball patriarch also struck the nerve of the NBA’s premier superstar, LeBron James who, on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) chastised Ball after claiming that his three sons would have better careers than James’ two boys.

“Keep my kids’ name out of your mouth, keep my family out of your mouth,” the four-time MVP told ESPN. “This is dad to dad. It’s a problem now.”

James added: “He can talk all about his brand, talk about his sons, talk about basketball, talk about me. But keep my family out of this.”

During a guesting at a recent episode of “In the Zone with Chris Broussard” podcast, Ball compared LeBron’s sons Bronnie, 12, and Bryce, 9, with his sons.

He claimed that his boys were more suited up for success in the NBA since they didn’t have to live up to LeBron’s reputation.

“The monsters in the NBA, their dads wasn’t that good,” Ball said. “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.”  Khristian Ibarrola /ra

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