LaVar Ball Says Lonzo Will Always Have Bad Rap 'Because I'm Talking...About Him'

LaVar Ball acknowledged Friday that his outspokenness impacts public perception of his son—Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball.

In an interview with ESPN (h/t John Chick of theScore), the elder Ball said, "[Lonzo's] always gonna have a bad rap. You know why? Because I'm talking...about him. Cuz Lonzo's so good you can't touch him."

You can view his full comments below:

After a rough NBA debut against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, Lonzo bounced back with 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in a 132-130 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

During Thursday's 108-92 loss to the Clippers at Staples Center, Ball was held to three points on 1-of-6 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and four assists.

Two-time All-Defensive Team selection Patrick Beverley was covering Ball for much of the game, and the rookie was unable to find his rhythm.

After the game, Beverley yelled, "Weak ass motherf--ker. Bring him out on the court with me, and I will tear his ass up," apparently in reference to Ball, per ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk and Marc J. Spears.

LaVar responded and questioned Beverley's credentials:

"Yeah, you shut the motherf--ker down. And your check still ain't going to go no higher than what it is. Yeah, you shut him down. OK ... 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. But you put my son's name in it, and you put my name in it, now you got some action and you got some people talking."

The Lakers selected Lonzo at No. 2 overall in the 2017 NBA draft in June after he had one spectacular collegiate season at UCLA.

He will look to build upon the momentum gained in Friday's game when he and the Lakers face the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday at Staples Center.

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