LaVar Ball believes Lonzo's injuries are due to 'bulls--- training' from Lakers' staff

LaVar Ball seems to have found another obstacle in the way of his family’s goal of running the basketball universe: Los Angeles Lakers director of strength and endurance training Gunnar Peterson.

LaVar Ball sounds off on Lakers’ training

Basketball’s loudest dad recently told HoopsHype he is unhappy with the Lakers’ training regimen and seemed to think it was the cause of his son Lonzo’s injury issues during his rookie season. The elder ball unfavorably compared Peterson’s results with his own more old-school approach.

“My expectation for Lonzo is for him to be twice as good as he was this year, and to be more healthy,. He understands, he went through it. If you’re going to be doing those [workouts with] rubber-bands like that dude Gunnar has him doing, that [is] bulls— training. That’s what I call it. S—, he wasn’t like that when I brought him over there. When he first came [to the Lakers], he never got hurt. He was never hurt.”

Lakers trainer Gunnar Peterson’s history in Hollywood

Peterson has long been a fixture in the world of Los Angeles celebrity training, working with several well-known names like Sylvester Stallone, Halle Berry, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Sofia Vergara and most of the Kardashian family. The fairly outside-the-box hire was among the many made when Magic Johnson took over as Lakers team president.

LaVar Ball wants his son lifting more iron and fewer rubber bands with the Lakers. (AP Photo)
LaVar Ball wants his son lifting more iron and fewer rubber bands with the Lakers. (AP Photo)

Lonzo Ball, LaVar Ball and the Lakers’ health

Ball told HoopsHype that Lonzo and his brothers have all trained under him and were “bred on lifting weights.” The 50-year-old has been vocal about several aspects of Lonzo’s career with the Lakers, most notably his critiques of head coach Luke Walton.

During his rookie season, Lonzo played in only 52 games after missing significant time with left knee issues. Lonzo was not alone in experience injuries on the Lakers as last year, as Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Brook Lopez and others all missed varying amounts of time. Whether or not that is the direct result of Peterson’s work is hard to say in just one season, but that won’t stop Ball from pushing for more control of the Lakers’ publicity as he tries to get all three of his sons (and maybe LeBron James) on the team.

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