LeBron James needs to leave the Los Angeles Lakers and return to retire in Cleveland, LaVar Ball implores.
The bombastic father of three NBA players, Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball (the middle son is in the NBA’s minor league), spoke on a fan video via Cameo where the patriarch stated that the Lakers are too old to compete for another title. King James, 37, won it all with the Lakers in the pandemic “bubble” in Orlando, Florida, in 2020.
“The Lakers are having little problems over there with LeBron. Yeah, he has a team but it’s too old. But Cleveland fans want him [to go] back to Cleveland to finish up his career. Go to Cleveland, LeBron. Go finish up your thing and get game in your hometown, man,” Ball instructed.
As most fans know, James started his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers and played for seven seasons before joining the Miami Heat in 2010 and winning his first two NBA championships. In 2014, James returned to Cleveland and won his third ring in 2016. He then moved to his current location in Southern California in 2018 and won his fourth NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020.
During an interview on the podcast “In the Zone with Chris Broussard,” Ball said life is going to be hard for LeBron “Bronny” James due to his father’s greatness.
“You got LeBron, it’s going to be hard for his kids because they are going to look at them like, ‘You got to be just like your dad.’ And after a while, that pressure starts sitting on you like, ‘Why do I got to be just like him? What can’t I just be me?’ And then they are going to be like, ‘Aw, you’re soft, you’re not that good.’ Because the expectation is very, very high.”
When asked about the comment by ESPN, James said of Ball: “Keep my kids’ name out of your mouth. Keep my family out of your mouth. This is dad to dad. It’s a problem now.”
Flip the page to see the Ball interview in full.
