Lavar Ball believes in using sports as a vehicle to Black ownership
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Lavar Ball is well known for his contributions to the sports industry and training his three sons, Lonzo, LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball, to become NBA superstars. Despite the headlines in the media the past few years, Lavar is a determined father who is intentionally making sure that his family name is a global brand. On yesterday’s (April 17) episode of “The Blackprint,” host and REVOLT CEO Detavio Samuels sat down with the former pro football player to learn more about his origin story and what legacy means to him.
Having grown up in South Central, Los Angeles, Lavar explained to Samuels that he comes from a big family. The athlete shared that during his childhood, his father trained him and his brothers to be very athletic. Lavar was very competitive, which landed him in multiple sports activities and contributed to his life overall. During the conversation, Samuels asked what was the moment sports became of interest as a career path. He admitted that it wasn’t sports that he was interested in.
“Sports didn’t catch my eye. I was just very competitive. Whether I’m riding a bike, skateboarding, playing football, basketball, etc. I just loved to play. My pops always trained us and that’s why my brothers, myself, and my boys have an athletic build. My pops had that mindset. My dad used to always say, ‘You don’t want to play on the team, you should own the team.’ But for me, I didn’t want to own the team. I really wanted to play,” Lavar reminisced.
He continued, “I never miss football or basketball because I never had a passion for it. I just did it.”
While sports was not planned for the LA native, Lavar went on to begin his football career coming out of high school and tried out for the New York Jets post-college. After a few years, the athlete decided to take a different route and looked for a way to make a living outside of working a 9-5. Inspired by his dad, the CEO adopted the training mindset and launched the Big Baller Training brand. With his own approach, Lavar started helping students in local high schools who aspired to be amazing athletes.
This kind of training was not only being implemented for local teens, but within the home as well. The dialogue segued into the father of three expressing how he started guiding his sons to be physically capable at an early age. Lavar also talked about how others perceived his training methods as “pushing” his kids, but the athlete said he disagrees with that narrative.
“I don’t push my boys, I lead them. There’s a difference. If I lead you, that means you can turn off anytime that you want. If you don’t like the way things are going, you can choose a different route. Ultimately, I make it fun for them,” Lavar noted.
Samuels brought up the topic of family structure and alignment. The host inquired about how his family stays on the same page as they continue to work on the bigger goal. Lavar candidly expressed that his family unit was all a part of his plan. From marrying his wife to establishing the roles in the household, the proud husband and father insisted that while the family works great together as a team, it is the love that keeps everything moving. The businessman also added that investing in your own family is the key to long-term success.
“I get that other people see where the boys are now, but I planned for this for 18-19 years. You have to make an investment. And what’s better than investing in your own [family]? You can’t beat that. You can’t lose with that,” Lavar shared.
This discussion led to Samuels asking about the motivation behind the Big Baller Brand and how Lavar envisions it will grow. He emphasized the importance of Black ownership and relayed to Samuels that using the sports industry is a business tactic.
“Ninety percent of the league is Black, but we don’t own anything. So when I try to explain to people about my brand, I’m in the race. Ownership is everything. I’m one of the only Black brands that’s still doing it. Some people have asked me where do I see myself in five to 10 years? I say the biggest brand ever,” Lavar stated.
He continued, “The BBB brand is going to be one of the biggest brands because I can do so many things. I don’t have to go to a boardroom and present my ideas. Whatever I feel my vision is, it can get done. It doesn’t get diluted by 15-20 people saying, ‘Let’s do this, but not this.’ I want to be in everything. It’s not even about the money. I just want to see how big the BBB brand can grow. Along the way, I’ve learned you have to have the right people around you that you can trust and know the culture of the markets you’re going after.”
Lavar went on to explain that when it comes to capital and scaling the brand, his family is all he needs. With the revenue within his household, money is not the motivating factor. The main goal is building generational wealth.
“This may be contradicting. But when I make a brand this big, there is no exit plan for me. Why would I leave? I am not leaving anything that I built. I’m not trying to sell my brand. I am trying to have my kids, my kids’ kids, and my kids’ kids’ kids be cool. I want people to know the Ball name for generations,” the businessman stated.
The conversation concluded with Lavar and Samuels agreeing on the mission of being able to help others become successful as part of leaving a legacy.
As always, if you liked this recap, tune into new “The Blackprint with Detavio Samuels” episodes every other Monday at 5 p.m. ET on the REVOLT website, YouTube channel and app. You can watch the latest installment with Lavar Ball here.
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