New Orleans Pelicans: LaVar Ball Predicts Pelicans will Beat Lakers

After a long stretch of silence, LaVar Ball is back to making outlandish predictions, this time that the ninth place New Orleans Pelicans will upset the Lakers.

LaVar Ball is no stranger to controversy. When Lonzo Ball was on the Lakers, his father couldn’t keep out of the headlines and eventually the Lakers decided enough was enough and shipped Ball and his father to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a package for Anthony Davis.

Since then, the elder Ball has mostly remained quiet, aside from the occasional title guarantee, and his son has emerged as one of the best overall point guards in the NBA.

But it was only a matter of time before LaVar got back into the press, as he seems to love the spotlight that comes with his sometimes brash predictions about his sons.

He had plenty to say on Undisputed, including that his middle son, LiAngelo Ball will be the NBA scoring champion within three years.

Considering most people don’t even believe the middle Ball will ever be in the NBA after going undrafted, this is a bold prediction indeed. It will be hard to win the scoring title if he’s not in the league and LiAngelo Ball is not going to be in the league.

LaVar Ball went on to make another bold prediction about his youngest son LaMelo Ball. He predicted his son would be the number one pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and that he would be a future superstar in the NBA.

This prediction might actually come true, as the youngest Ball has rocketed up draft boards and could very well go number one depending on who gets the pick.

This year’s draft is a crapshoot without a consensus number one choice, so if a team like the Detroit Pistons happened to get the top pick, they may decide that Ball’s combination of size and popularity is enough.

LaMelo doesn’t shoot the ball well, but like his brother Lonzo, is a gifted passer who can do a bit of everything.

But LaVar Ball didn’t stop there. After crowning his middle son the scoring champ and practically predicting LaMelo will be the next LeBron, the outspoken patriarch then got silly.

He said that the New Orleans Pelicans were going to shock the world and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs.

The reason of course is that his son will be in “revenge mode” against the Lakers after losing the season series 4-0. I guess he has plenty to get vengeance for, as LeBron James and the Lakers have handled the young New Orleans Pelicans on their way to the league’s second best record.

While the young New Orleans Pelicans have played well of late behind the efforts of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Ball, they currently are not even in the playoffs, though Five Thirty Eight gives them a 62% chance to get there.

They have a tough stretch of eight games that may determine if they make it, but currently the New Orleans Pelicans are on the outside looking in.

Even if they get there, the Pelicans have not been able to slow down LeBron and unless they figure it out, they are unlikely to beat the Lakers in the playoffs.

It was only a matter of time before LaVar Ball made more of his shocking predictions. The New Orleans Pelicans and their fans hope he is right about this one, but before they beat the Lakers the Pelicans need to get there and they have a long way to go.