Okay let’s get one thing straight, there’s no doubt that UCLA’s (now former) point guard Lonzo Ball is very talented and very exciting to watch on the court. He will also probably be a very valuable asset to an NBA team in the near future. Just like his two younger brothers (LiAngelo, age 18 and Lamelo, age 15) it’s looking like his future with basketball is very promising. That being said, their father is setting them up for failure. Now listen, I’m all about wanting to see your kids succeed, and if they say they want to pursue something, then you should absolutely try to push them to achieve their goals. But once you start taking shots at NBA MVP’s and hall-of-famers, you’re going overboard.

Now keep in mind that the problem doesn’t lie with how hard Lavar Ball is pushing his kids, but rather it lies with how much praise he gives to his sons. I understand that your kids are supposed to be your pride and joy as a parent, but when you start telling people that your son is a better basketball player than other peoples’ kids and better than the best players in the NBA, you are making it so your son has to live up to an unbelievable amount of hype. Lavar Ball said recently that he believes his sons will end up being better than LeBron James’s kids because of the pedigree that Lebron’s sons will have to live up to. But doesn’t he realize that he is creating the same type of situation for his boys with all of the praise he’s giving them? Yes LeBron’s kids will have to live up to a lot of hype simply because of who their dad is (especially since one of them shares the same name as his father, LeBron Jr.). But what Lavar Ball doesn’t realize is that his sons will basically have to do the same thing because of all the praise he has given them.

Now, Lavar has also said that he wants that target on his sons’ backs because it will make their opponents want to stop them that much more. However, this may do more than just that, it could end up making other players not even want to play with them due to how much hatred has been aimed at them because of their Dad. After UCLA’s Sweet Sixteen loss a few days ago, I think Lavar Ball endured the humbling experience that he’s had coming for quite some time now. This is obvious because of the modest comments he made after the game: “They came up short, but one game doesn’t define his (Lonzo) season,” “No one is going to take De’Aaron Fox over him because of one game. It’s about your body of work, and people know what he can do,” “When I talked to him after the game, I told him, ‘You’re going to win. You’re going to lose. It’s OK. No one goes undefeated.’ They went 15-17 last year and went to the Sweet 16. This won’t be his legacy. It’s just a step to get to the ultimate goal — the NBA.” You’ll notice that these comments are very toned down compared his previous ones. Whatever Lavar Ball decides to do now that Lonzo is done at UCLA and headed to the NBA, I would like to see Lonzo and his two brothers have successful basketball careers and I think they will all deliver in that regard. But the moral of the story here, Lavar Ball will be setting his kids up for nothing but failure if he keeps portraying them the way he has.