New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball Left Controversy in Los Angeles

Lonzo Ball has quietly established himself as an emerging all-around talent for the New Orleans Pelicans and has done it without the controversy that plagued him in Los Angeles.

Few players enter the NBA with the type of controversy and hype that surrounded point guard Lonzo Ball. He started getting headlines early in his college career at UCLA and by the time he entered the league, Lonzo was a walking tabloid. But since coming to the New Orleans Pelicans, Ball has been a model citizen and is slowly evolving into an All-Star type talent and he’s done so without the fanfare and paparazzi that followed him in Los Angeles.

Even after having a stellar rookie season where he averaged 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists, Ball had become “damaged goods” in Los Angeles, largely through no fault of his own. Ball was constantly being dragged through the tabloids by his outspoken father LaVar, who seemed to cause a maelstrom of controversy every time he opened his mouth. It got so bad in Los Angeles that team president Magic Johnson had a sit down to ask him to tone down his criticism of coach Luke Walton.

It didn’t really work and LaVar Ball continued to get negative headlines with son Lonzo often left in the position of defending his father’s outlandish comments. Lonzo even poked fun at their relationship in a hilarious ad for Foot Locker.

The elder Ball also insisted on starting his own shoe company, Big Baller Brand, and Lonzo was left tripping over the results of poor manufacturing and marketing of what was meant to be his signature shoe. Lonzo eventually cut ties with BBB in another storm of controversy, proving that starting your own shoe empire is not as easy as Nike makes it look.

By the time “Ball in the Family,” a reality TV series that follows the Balls, debuted in 2017, Lonzo was already a household name and it was about to get worse. The Lakers acquired superstar LeBron James, who immediately made it clear that he wasn’t about to put up with any of LaVar Ball’s nonsense. The relationship hit a low point during the trade deadline, when the elder Ball claimed that his son was “better than LeBron” in what had to be one of the strangest interviews ever recorded.

All of the negative attention took its toll on Lonzo, whose numbers dipped in his second season as the Lakers struggled to find any chemistry with LeBron, leading to the iconic photo of James sitting alone on the Lakers’ bench.

By the time Lonzo was shipped to the Pelicans as part of a package for Anthony Davis, his reputation had been thoroughly sullied by his tabloid-seeking father, and some teams were unwilling to trade for the point guard, even after showing such potential. It appeared as if a once-promising young career was going to die a quiet death in New Orleans.

LaVar Ball even managed to get in a few parting shots, claiming the Lakers would “regret” trading Lonzo and would never win another championship. It seemed like some of LaVar’s nose for controversy was rubbing off on his son, as Lonzo made several disparaging remarks about the New Orleans Pelicans according to Shams Charania.

Things quickly changed once Lonzo arrived in New Orleans. Lonzo put his head down and went to work. He started to recalibrate his awkward shooting motion, got back to focusing on basketball and suddenly the walking tabloid was just a point guard again.

LaVar Ball faded into the background, though he does occasionally rear his head for criticism of the team and coach, but overall he’s mostly been a cheerleader for the young New Orleans Pelicans, even predicting they would win the title and appears happy his son is now on the best young team in the NBA.

Lonzo has quietly emerged as one of the leaders for the young New Orleans Pelicans even though he is still just 22 years old. Ball is enjoying his best season as a professional, averaging a career-high 11.8 points per game, while adding 6.8 assists and six rebounds to a solid all-around game. His size, defense and versatility make Ball one of the most exciting young players in the NBA and his passes to Zion Williamson will undoubtedly fill highlight reels for years to come.

Lonzo was the driving force behind the New Orleans Pelicans’ resurgence and is evolving into one of the best all-around point guards in the league, even while sharing primary ball handling duties with Jrue Holiday and Zion.

Ball has not only taken his game to another level, shooting 36.7 percent from behind the arc, but has done so without the controversy and negativity that surrounded him in Los Angeles. Ball, along with Williamson and All-Star Brandon Ingram, form one of the most electrifying and talented young groups in the NBA. Lonzo left the controversy in Los Angeles and remembered how fun it is to just be a baller.