LaVar Ball is having a pretty good week. On Wednesday, his youngest son LaMelo was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. In making that selection, the Hornets ensured that LaVar would go down in NBA history as the first father with two sons taken within the top three picks.
While on his celebratory media tour, LaVar appeared on a podcast and took the opportunity to take a jab at President Donald Trump.
“If he would’ve never act a fool, he’d still be president,” LaVar said on BroBible’s ‘Endless Hustle’ podcast. “I would’ve been there with him, I woulda helped him out. You wanna act crazy with the Big Baller, guess what happens? Anybody real crazy with me don’t last long. … anyone messed with Big Ballers in the long run, it’s not gonna work out for you.
“If Trump would’ve accepted my shoes and not actin’ a fool, he would still be president. Now he gotta go. Oh well.”
You will recall, back in 2017 LaVar’s middle boy LiAngelo was busted for shoplifting in China. He and an associate from UCLA stood accused of stealing a pair of sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store near the UCLA team hotel in Hangzhou, China.
Seeing as LiAngelo and his friend were American citizens, President Trump got involved. Following a conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, both youngsters were permitted to return to the United States. Afterward, President Trump sent out a tweet asking when the UCLA players would thank him for his intervention.
Vanessa Bryant kept it real. https://t.co/0QXhwdBf6w
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 16, 2020
“Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump?” he tweeted. “They were headed for 10 years in jail!”
The players involved, as well as their head coach, all subsequently thanked President Trump.
President Trump then responded accordingly.
“You’re welcome, go out and give a big Thank You to President Xi Jinping of China who made your release possible and, HAVE A GREAT LIFE! Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life!”
Paige Spiranac kept it very real. https://t.co/I4ZnqikeDM
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 17, 2020
At that point, the matter seemed like it should’ve been resolved. LaVar ensured that didn’t happen. During an interview, he dismissed President Trump as inconsequential in getting his son released.
“Who?” he asked. “What was he over there for? Don’t tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out.”
President Trump took issue with this.
Yikes. https://t.co/9PwWKJnIcH
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 18, 2020
“Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!”
LaVar then went on CNN and issued a response of his own.
“I would’ve said ‘Thank you’ if he would’ve put him on his plane and took him home,” he said. “Then I would’ve said, ‘Thank you Mr. Trump for taking my boys out of China and taking them back to the U.S.’ There’s a lot of room on that plane. I would have said thank you kindly to that.”
Poor Kyle Kuzma out here catching strays. https://t.co/AoWC9QuGv6
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 18, 2020
President Trump then issued another response.
“It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence – IT WAS ME,” he tweeted.
“Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man’s version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think…LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!”
LaMelo is officially ready for the league. #NBADraft https://t.co/HDnFLQQqzJ
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 19, 2020
Which brings us back to the here and now, and LaVar claiming that this beef is what led to President-elect Joe Biden prevailing over President Trump.
“If he never did that to Big Baller I would have been like ‘Trump’s our guy, let’s roll!’” LaVar continued on the podcast. “Everybody would’ve been like ‘we’re voting, let’s go.’”
LaVar also claimed that President Trump recently reached out to him, only to be rebuffed.
“I’m not accepting his call,” he continued. “When he’s down on his luck he wanna call a Big Baller and get back some love. I told him to call Lil’ Wayne or one of them rappers or something.”
One way or another, it appears as though this feud between President Trump and LaVar isn’t wrapping up any time soon.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
