Lonzo Ball's NBA career is off to a slow start after scoring just one basket Thursday as his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, was routed by the Los Angeles Clippers.
The heralded rookie and media target because of his outspoken father LaVar Ball, went 1-for-6 from the field where he faced one of the best defenders in the league, NBA All-Defense first-teamer Patrick Beverley.
"I think I took six shots," Ball said after the game, ESPN reported. "That's not enough. I was 1-for-6 – that's never a good percentage."
LaVar Ball has courted controversy along the road to his son's NBA career, demanding $1 billion for sneaker contracts not only for Lonzo but his two younger sons as well. Video of him berating his AAU team during a loss and a possible threat against a sports talk show host were other incidents.
He also boasted his son is better than the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, the players who have led their teams to the last three NBA Finals.
Clippers guard Patrick Beverley could not resist commenting on both of the Balls after the Clippers' 108-92 win.
"I just had to set the tone," Beverley told ESPN. "I told him after the game that due to all the riffraff his dad brings, that he's going to get a lot of people coming at him. I let him know that after the game. What a better way to start than spending 94 feet guarding him tonight — welcome the young guy to the NBA."
That did not sit well with LaVar Ball, who charged that Beverley made a comment directly to him after the game.
"Yeah, you shut the mother f***** down, and your check still ain't going to go no higher than what it is," LaVar Ball said in an ESPN interview. "Who is Patrick Beverley? He played all last year and nobody said nothing about him. Now we are looking at your first game. Why? Because Lonzo's name is attached to it.
"So you got to be [all hard]. Let's see what you do the next five games, if you are going to be pumped up toward everybody like that and go back to your 0-for-5 shooting and your two or three rebounds. Nobody is going to care about you," LaVar Ball added.
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