LaVar Ball - Genius Marketer Or Just An Idiot?

If you have been paying any attention to the sports world, particularly basketball, I'm sure you've heard of LaVar Ball. He is the father of Lonzo Ball, the star point guard at UCLA, along with Liangelo and Lamello. He is known to be extremely outspoken, claiming that he could've beat Michael Jordan in 1-v-1, that Lonzo is better than Steph, that he is looking for a $1 Billion dollar shoe deal, and that Lonzo will be better than Magic for the Lakers. This guy certainly doesn't back down, he goes after anyone and anybody. You never know what will come out of his mouth. Personally, I think he is using the attention to market his brand. I kind of feel bad for his sons though; they are going to have major targets on their backs.

There are stories about how Ball installed the style of play he wanted at Chino Hills to accommodate the talents of his kids and the way he had trained them growing up, feuding with coaches and running off other high school players who weren’t willing to get with it. Chino Hills has played a bizarre style of basketball with the Ball brothers on board, involving cherry-picking baskets and full court passes to play at a breakneck pace uncomfortable for most high school opponents, and a brand of ball that doesn’t fully translate to the NBA court. That’s how LaMelo scored 92 points in a game this season, and how LiAngelo scored 72.

Is this guy a genius when it comes to marketing? Or is this guy just an idiot?

Reference: Who Is LaVar Ball?

11 Comments
 
Best Response

Total idiot who is blemishing his son's image, especially now that he's gone after not only Steph curry, but LeBron James too. Just let the game do the talking. Worst kind of parents are those who exaggerate how good their sons / daughters are at sports and live vicariously through them by running their mouths off left and right. Don't get me wrong, Lonzo is a great player but his dad is doing so much talking but he's still just a kid that needs to prove his worth in the NBA. TOTAL IDIOT /thread.

 

Marketing machine. As they say, 'any press is good press.' For shoe deals/etc - exposure is everything.

Think of it this way - his 2 younger sons are already in the national spotlight and they're not even in college yet...you can say "oh well one of them scored 100pts in a game,' but honestly I would assume that his dad urged him to.....the kid took 60+ shots.

 

He's more than an idiot but a complete train wreck. He is going to have those kids as hated as the Williams sisters were at one point thanks to their Dad as well.

Even funnier is do a search for his "basketball skills" he references so much from his "playing days". It's full of fail.

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.
 

Absolutely hate the guy. His attempts to market his kids have started to become negative for their futures. No one wants a parent who is louder than the player. Unwanted media attention and tons of bullshit.

Lonzo is a damn good player, but if you've watched the Chino Hills games at all, the Ball kids play such bullshit basketball. If I had 100 3 point attempts a game, I'd probably be putting up some big numbers too. LiAngelo and LaMelo have both committed to UCLA as well.... don't expect them to be half the player that Lonzo is.

...
 

Neque placeat nobis quo autem non molestiae tempore. Dolor voluptate quod repellendus impedit ex. Et eaque iure et expedita.

Quis ratione fugit ipsam beatae. Voluptates consequatur aliquid esse asperiores repellat nostrum. Laboriosam sunt fugiat at quibusdam. Rem et rerum qui placeat illum omnis voluptatibus. Dolores et molestiae sint a unde et necessitatibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”