Welcome to another edition of “LaVar Ball said what about Lonzo Ball?!?!?”
The latest, per Complex Sports, has Pops saying that social media can make his son “bigger” than Kobe Bryant:
LaVar on Lonzo: “He can be bigger than Kobe. By far.”
Rich: “How?”
LaVar: “Social Media.” #ComplexCon
— Complex (@Complex) November 4, 2017
So, like, on the LaVar scale of talking points, this take is pretty tame.
Lonzo has about a half-million followers on Twitter to Kobe’s 13 million. He has some catching up to do. But unlike Kobe, Twitter and other social media platforms will be around for his entire career.
I mean, think about it: We’re here, right now, in the year 2017, talking about how LaVar said Lonzo could be come more popular than Kobe. This doesn’t happen without social media—without a sharable, digestible, viral-ready platform to promote and spread his thoughts.
This comment will still rub some the wrong way. It will get under their skin. It will incense them. Some will, and have, even written headlines that don’t include LaVar’s social media disclaimer, which removes valuable context.
And that’s fine. But, for once, LaVar isn’t saying Lonzo will be the best player in NBA history or something. He’s simply talking about his son’s brand. And while the sentiments still represent a leap of faith knowing how strong Kobe’s brand off the court has become, the premise, again, is not totally unsubstantiated.
All that said, Lonzo needs to be a perennial All-Star to have a puncher’s chance in catching Kobe’s shadow. He might be more recognizable as a rookie, but public interest will fade over the next few years if he isn’t even close to the megastar LaVar has made him out to be. Getting LiAngelo Ball or LaMelo Ball into the NBA will pique interest up in everyone again, but Lonzo’s supposed to be the best of the bunch, and LaVar’s approach to self-promotion is very much experimental in many ways. He, and the rest of the family, need things to go right with their guinea pig, which is in this case Lonzo.
