Outspoken and high-stepping LaVar Ball, the patriarch of one of basketball’s most celebrated families, underwent the amputation of his right foot recently in the aftermath of what was characterized as a “serious medical issue.”
The Chino Hills resident, who has parlayed his status as the father two current NBA stars and another professional basketball player who has played internationally into a lucrative sports apparel business, has a flare for making controversial and attention-grabbing comments on topical matters or those pertaining to the sports world, basketball in particular.
Upon his eldest son Lonzo submitting to the NBA draft after his freshman year at UCLA and turning pro in 2017 by signing with and playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, LaVar Ball immediately capitalized on the notoriety he had, boosting attention to himself, and ultimately his business ventures by making a series of outrageous statements. Included among these was his boast that in his prime hew would have beaten Michael Jordan in a one-on-one game.
He parlayed the notoriety and attention into the creation of a new basketball league in which two of his sons briefly played and the clothing/sports shoe line Big Baller Brand.
A promising but somewhat lackluster college basketball player himself, largely because he had not participated in the sport until late in high school, he briefly starred with West Los Angeles College, where in 1986 he got off to a brilliant start in 1986, scoring 33 points with 18 rebounds against Porterville College in the season opener. This led to his transfer to Washington State where he was made the Cougars’ starting forward. He never lived up to his billing there, however, averaging 2.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and a single assist in 26 games. He transferred once more to Cal State, where he garnered some publicity as one of the three Ball brothers who were starters on that team.
With his wife, Tina Slatinsky, who played women’s basketball at Cal State Los Angeles, he has three sons with talent in basketball that surpasses his own.
His oldest son, Lonzo, played one year with UCLA before submitting to the NBA draft, in which he was a second-round pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017. He was subsequently traded to the New Orleans Pelicans and is now a point guard with the Chicago Bulls.
LaVar and Tina’s second oldest son, LiAngelo, was a standout with Chino Hills High, where both of his brothers played and where he was on a team that won the California State championship. He was recruited by UCLA but forwent playing in college and instead signed on with the Lithuanian team Prienai. Upon his father founding the Junior Basketball Association, he played in that league and seemed destined for the NBA when he was signed by the Detroit Pistons in 2020. The Pistons, nonetheless waived him before the 2020-21 season began. He played with the second tier professional Greensboro Swarm in the NBA G League and most recently played last year for the Mexican team Astros de Jalisco.
LaVar and Tina’s youngest son is LaMelo, who as a 14-year-old freshman school was, with his brothers, a member of the Chino Hills High team that won the state championship. A dispute with his high school coach in which his father was an instigator, led to his leaving Chino Hills High and signing with the Prinai team in Lithuania. In 2018, he returned to the United States to play in the Junior Basketball Association created by his father, and then went back to high school, this time with the SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio. He, like his brother was recruited by UCLA, but instead turned professional once more, playing for the Illawarra Hawks in the Australian National Basketball League in 2019. Subsequently, he was drafted by the Hornets third overall in 2020. He played as a forward and was voted NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 and played on the NBA All Star Team the following year.
While LaVar and Tina were blessed with tremendous athletic skill and the physical frames to match, they have both suffered health challenges that have tested them.
At this point, there has not been a clarification of what it was that led to the amputation of LaVar’s right foot.
In 2018, Tina had a stroke. She recovered, but was left with expressive aphasia as a result.