Despite a major personal setback—having his right foot amputated in early 2025—Ball’s stance remains unchanged. He previously asserted that he could still beat Jordan even after the amputation, saying he took off his right foot to level the playing field. Ball’s brazen confidence continues to be a hallmark of his public persona.
In another CLASH feature, Ball took part in a LaVar Ball vs. 20 Gen Z Fans challenge. He claimed that he and his son LaMelo would defeat any father-son NBA duo. When a fan suggested that LeBron James and Bronny James would beat them, Ball dismissed the idea. He argued that in his prime, he would outplay LeBron, finding LeBron too light and small in comparison. He described a screen-and-roll-heavy game plan and suggested Melo would hit shots while he pursued rebounds.
When pressed about LeBron specifically, Ball maintained that LeBron cannot shoot effectively, continuing his characteristic, emphatic style of arguments about matchups and skill.
The discussion extended to a hypothetical game-to-11 between Ball and LaMelo against notable father-son duos. Ball projected dominant scores for all the matchups, consistently predicting wins by large margins against duos such as Rick and Jalen Brunson, Ron and Dylan Harper, LeBron and Bronny James, Dell and Stephen Curry, and Mychal and Klay Thompson.
Early on, Ball appeared modest, but he later reverted to his typical bold claims about his abilities and prospects.
Regarding Ball’s playing career, it’s a different story: he played one season of Division I basketball at Washington State, where he averaged 2.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per game in the 1987-88 season. He later transferred to California State University, Los Angeles, a Division II program, indicating that his on-court career was never at the NBA level.
GOAT debate and legacy: Ball has weighed in on who is the greatest player of all time. In a 2020 appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast, he offered his perspective: the measure of the GOAT should be based on consistent success and finals performances rather than merely accumulating rings with multiple teams. He argued that the GOAT should have no Finals losses, and he asserted that Michael Jordan remains the GOAT in his view because Jordan never lost in the NBA Finals. He contrasted this with LeBron James’ Finals record, which Ball sees as a reason to favor Jordan.
As for Ball’s sons, LiAngelo has not played in an NBA game, Lonzo Ball’s professional career has faced significant hurdles and may be nearing its end, and LaMelo Ball is still active but not currently positioned to redefine this GOAT discussion in the family’s terms.
