Five Things That Are Worse For Basketball Than LaVar Ball
LaVar Ball‘s comments continue to make news as a Nike Executive claims Ball is bad for basketball.
Bleacher Report reported earlier that Nike Executive George Raveling stated that LaVar Ball is “the worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years.”
LaVar Ball has made the news more and more since his oldest son, Lonzo Ball, began playing for UCLA Basketball last fall. The elder Ball has been outspoken, and some would say a little hyperbolic, about his sons’ abilities. He once claimed Lonzo, a college freshman, was already better than Steph Curry, a nine-year NBA player.
Sure, Ball has made some outlandish statements. But is he really the worst thing that has happened to basketball in the past 100 years? I don’t think so. Personally, I am not a fan of the guy, but he’s far from the worst thing in basketball in the last century.
Related Story: Stellar Recruiting Class Has Big Shoes to Fill
In fact, here are five things that have been far worse for basketball than Ball:
1. One-and-Done Rule
More from Go Joe Bruin
- UCLA Football: It’s time for the nation to meet Dante Moore
- UCLA Football: Where are they ranked heading into week 4
- UCLA Football: Position battle breakdown for Utah showdown
- UCLA vs. Utah: Location, time, prediction, and more
- UCLA Football: Highlights from Chip Kelly’s appearance on the Jim Rome Show
As of 2006, college basketball players are not able to declare for the NBA Draft until they are nineteen-years-old and have been out of high school for at least one year.
The rule was established after an increasing number of high school players were skipping college to go pro. This of course worked for some (read: Kobe Bryant), but not every high schooler has had the same successful outcome.
The change in draft eligibility rules created a new breed of college ball players who just play their freshman year before declaring for the draft. UCLA Basketball is all too familiar with these players.
Some believe this breed of players has harmed continuity of college basketball teams, and there is no doubt it has been a terrible career choice for some (See Davon Jefferson). But until the rules change, we’re stuck with some players declaring way too early.
2. Hack-a-Shaq, et al.
Hack-a-Shaq is a strategy where a basketball team intentionally fouls a member of the opposing team who has a poor free-throw shooting percentage in order to keep that team from scoring higher. Of course the “Shaq” in the term is none other than basketball great Shaquille O’Neal, who was good at dunking but not so much at free throws.
The NBA did change some rules for the 2016-2017 season that curtailed the practice a bit. But the fact that this strategy existed in the first place is a travesty. Hack-a-Shaq is arguably worse than soccer players flopping (yes, I went there). Most recently, the strategy was used against Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, and Andre Drummond.