{"id":168344,"date":"2026-08-26T03:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T06:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/lavar-had-too-much-control-over-time-with-lakers\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T03:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T06:31:12","slug":"lavar-had-too-much-control-over-time-with-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/lavar-had-too-much-control-over-time-with-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lavar had too much control over time with Lakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Lonzo Ball has played seven seasons in the NBA, but his career hasn\u2019t panned out how the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft likely envisioned it. <\/p>\n

Ball, currently an unsigned free agent, regrets how much control his father, Lavar, had early in his career<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Lonzo Ball\u2019s early career in the NBA, especially with the Lakers, was overshadowed by his father\u2019s antics. NBAE\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ball was an All-American out of UCLA, and his bombastic father publicly declared that he would be a Laker prior to the draft<\/a>. The Lakers then selected him No. 2 overall in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he had a huge influence on it, bro,\u201d Ball said of Lavar\u2019s involvement on the \u201cCurious Mike\u201d podcast with Michael Porter Jr. \u201cTo be honest\u2026 I think he damn near made it to where they had to pick me. Really, to a point, I really do feel like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers passed on drafting Jayson Tatum, who went No. 3 to the Boston Celtics that year. Fans have not forgotten the Lakers missing out on Tatum, but the team eventually used Ball along with Brandon Ingram as key assets in the trade that brought Anthony Davis to LA.<\/p>\n