LaVar Ball

LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA). He is the father of two professional basketball players: Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Lonzo Ball and Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball. LiAngelo, his second oldest son, is signed with Def Jam as a hip hop recording artist.

Ball played basketball and football while at Canoga Park High School, going on to play basketball at the collegiate level for West Los Angeles College, Washington State and Cal State Los Angeles. He also played football at Long Beach City College for a season. He had a brief professional career as a tight end with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football, where he had a total of 28 kickoff return yards, and no receptions. He was a practice squad member of the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers in 1995, but never played an official regular season game in the National Football League.

Following a series of bold statements in the spring of 2017, Ball began repeatedly making national sports headlines. His early remarks included saying that his son Lonzo was better than Stephen Curry and claiming that he himself could defeat Michael Jordan one-on-one in basketball. He was subject to both praise and criticism as he continued making similar comments, some of which involved his company, Big Baller Brand. Ball has made several appearances on national TV and has routinely drawn attention from major sports media outlets. He has also been in the spotlight for his criticism of his sons' teams, most notably the Lakers for their treatment of Lonzo, as well as for his exchange with U.S. president Donald Trump after LiAngelo was arrested in China for shoplifting.