LeBron James message for LaVar Ball: 'Keep my kids' name out of your mouth'
LeBron James has no problem with LaVar Ball – the father of UCLA’s Lonzo Ball and Chino Hills Academy’s LiAngelo and LaMelo – talking about his brand or his sons, but he wants his own sons left out of the conversation.
“He can talk all about his brand, talk about his sons, talk about basketball, talk about me,” James told ESPN. “But keep my family out of this.”
James is referring to comments Ball made on FS1’s “In the Zone with Chris Broussard” podcast. Ball said James’ sons would struggle in the league because their father’s résumé is too much to live up to.
[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]
“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? Why 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.”
So far, that hasn’t been the case for James’ sons at all. Both his 12-year-old, LeBron James Jr. — nicknamed “Bronny” — and 9-year-old, Bryce Maximus, have had successful AAU careers thus far and Bronny has verbal scholarship offers from Duke and Kentucky.
James told ESPN that he has no problem with the Ball children and he likes Lonzo’s game – but he has no tolerance when it comes to talking about his family.
“Keep my kids’ name out of your mouth, keep my family out of your mouth,” James said.
More on Yahoo Sports:
• Future of Raiders’ Las Vegas move becoming clear
• Ranking Sweet 16 games from most to least compelling
• Witness refuses to crack at Aaron Hernandez’s murder trial
