The NBA playoffs are inching toward the conference finals. The Golden State Warriors look unstoppable. Boston’s Isaiah Thomas continues to prove people wrong, and LeBron James’ dominance has Cleveland on track for another Finals appearance.
And yet, the talk of basketball this week centered on a Southern California father and his aggressive and perhaps unprecedented promotion of his son.
Seven weeks before the NBA draft, LaVar Ball is basketball’s most divisive personality. Case in point: A veteran Nike executive recently called him the worst thing to happen to the sport in 100 years. At the same time, Ball might be a marketing genius.