Lonzo Ball Says LeBron Is The Greatest Of All Time, He’s His Biggest Mentor

LeBron James and Lonzo Ball played one season in Los Angeles, but it was enough for them to build a strong connection. In one of his interviews, Ball says LeBron was his biggest mentor during their time together.

Ball went on a podcast hosted by California Baptist University men’s basketball head coach Rick Croy.

“The person who’s mentored me the most in the last year is probably LeBron,” he said. “Just being with him pretty much the whole year: same team, same bus, same hotel. I was just always with him and just picking up what I can from the greatest to ever play.”

LeBron and Ball were injured last season. The superstar was limited to 55 games, and Ball played just 47 games.

But, LeBron wasn’t always friendly towards the Ball family. In 2017, he got into a thing with LaVar Ball. Lonzo’s dad made a mistake at the very first moment he mentioned LeBron’s kids.

“The monsters in the NBA, their dads wasn’t that good,” Ball said. “They were OK, they was players, but the fact that the old [Dell] Curry wasn’t no All-Star, he wasn’t cold. He could shoot the ball, though. Kobe Bryant, his dad wasn’t all that, that’s why he’s such a monster.

“You got LeBron, it’s going to be hard for his kids because they are going to look at them like, ‘You got to be just like your dad.’ And after a while, that pressure starts sitting on you like, ‘Why do I got to be just like him? What can’t I just be me?’ And then they are going to be like, ‘Aw, you’re soft, you’re not that good.’ Because the expectation is very, very high.”

He said the same thing a few days later.

“Let’s say I really excelled in football and made millions and millions of dollars. Do I spend that time with them now? No, I’ve got the offseason, I’ve got to worry about myself. Now I just buy you everything. Now I get you a trainer and hope you turn out to be OK. Whereas the fact that I wasn’t all that, allows me to spend all that time to make my boys all that.”

Well, LeBron wasn’t ready to put up with the nonsense, and warned Ball.

“Keep my kids’ name out of your mouth. Keep my family out of your mouth,” LeBron said of LaVar Ball. “This is dad to dad. It’s a problem now.”