Six years ago, Lavar Ball became a sports media darling and one of the most sought-after interviewees in the country as the outspoken father of three future NBA prospects: Lonzo Ball, LiAngelo Ball, and LaMelo Ball. Back then, the founder of the Big Baller Brand made lavish claims that he could beat Michael Jordan in a one-on-one basketball game and that his oldest son would be a better player than Steph Curry. Those proclamations have aged rather interestingly, as his youngest son, LaMelo, is now the best player on a team owned by Michael Jordan (Charlotte Hornets), his oldest son, Lonzo, has been plagued with knee injuries since joining the Chicago Bulls, and the middle son, LiAngelo, has never advanced beyond an NBA training camp roster. On the flip side, Lavar Ball is a self-made entrepreneur with a business empire that spans athletic apparel, athletic training, and television. More importantly, he's experienced nearly all of the pros and cons that the parent of a highly touted basketball prospect could encounter while helping their kid navigate from high school to the NBA. The Los Angeles native famously forged an unorthodox path for his boys when he pulled LiAngelo Ball out of UCLA and took LaMelo to Lithuania to play pro ball with grown men at the age of sixteen.

In a recent interview with Sporting News Australia, Lavar shared his thoughts on another famous father with offspring quickly rising up the ranks as basketball prospects in the city of Los Angeles, LeBron James. It's important to note that LeBron once told Lavar to "Keep my kids' name out your mouth" back in 2017. But this time around, Lavar's words were less critical and much far more measured and insightful. As Bronny James continues to mull offers and recruitment pitches from multiple universities, Lavar is suggesting that he bypasses college basketball and takes his talents to Australia to play pro ball like his son, LaMelo, once did.

"You can go set your own stage across the water," Lavar said. "He already [has] the name...He's gonna fill the gym up because two things happen when you're young and you're like that and your dad is where he's at...A lot of people are gonna want to see LeBron's son do good and a lot of people are gonna want to say he can't play against no grown men...It's better over here. Why? Because you playing against grown men and you getting paid...If you want to play basketball and you really that dude, why am I sitting in class trying to pass a chemistry test? I don't want to play no chemistry. I don't want to practice no Spanish."

Lavar Ball is currently developing basketball players in Australia, where his son, LaMelo owns an NBL team called the Illawarra Hawks. Australia's NBL league has been openly recruiting Bronny James since January. 

Scroll up and skip ahead to the 2:55 mark to hear Lavar share his thoughts on Bronny selecting a college to play basketball.

Source: Sports Illustrated