Lonzo Ball Is Nothing Like the L.A. Lakers Expected

By Tom Roddy

The pressure on Lonzo Ball ahead of his first season with the Lakers is huge, and the 19-year-old only has his father to thank for that.

Long before his son was drafted by L.A., LaVar Ball was in the habit of creating hype around Lonzo. He has claimed his son is better than Steph Curry of the Warriors, while picking arguments with NBA standouts past and present, like Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James.

The very public comments didn't escape the attention of the other Lakers. In fact, they began to build an image and create expectations, veteran Andrew Bogut says, of what Ball would be like. They turned out to be false.

"All the hype with what his dad has done with the brand means people want to knock him down," Bogut said, as quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald. "That reflects on Lonzo as well, but he is the complete opposite to what I thought.

"He is softly spoken, has a good sense of humor and doesn't say a lot. Nobody has had any issues with him.

"People's true colors come out as the season goes on, but I don't think he is like anything that has been reported."

But none of that will stop LaVar Ball from doing interviews, or promoting Lonzo and his two other sons, or picking fights. On Monday, Lavar outlined his expectations in an interview with the BBC.

"The next thing for Lonzo is to become the best player in the world. He ain't got nothing but time," LaVar said.

"Then my other two boys are going to chase him and be better than him. I hope all my boys end up on the Lakers. I guarantee they will win a lot of championships."

He continued: "They are bold words, but they are my bold words. I have my own opinion on things. I don't need anybody to tell me what to think. I know what I put in with my boys, that's why I said he was better than him. Whatever I think, I genuinely think."