LaVar Ball is back in the headlines again, and honestly, the man treats NBA playoff drama like it’s his personal podcast stage.
After the Cleveland Cavaliers got swept out of the Eastern Conference Finals by the New York Knicks, LaVar Ball wasted absolutely zero time grabbing a microphone that nobody handed him. According to him, Cleveland’s biggest mistake wasn’t defense, coaching, or shooting struggles. No, it was something much simpler in his world: they shouldn’t have traded Lonzo Ball.
“Just finished watching the Knicks and Cleveland game. Man, nothing more satisfying,” LaVar said. “They got my son Lonzo for this exact moment. Y’all didn’t get him for the season, you got him for this right here and look how you get blown out cuz you don’t have no easy transitional buckets. That’s what Lonzo do–fast-break points and defense. And what did y’all lose on? Fast-break points and defense and no intensity cuz no leadership. That’s what Lonzo does.”
Last summer, the Cavaliers acquired Lonzo Ball in a trade with the Chicago Bulls, but after appearing in just 35 games for the team, Ball was traded to the Utah Jazz in February and immediately waived.
Ball missed the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons due to injury, and he has not played in more than 35 games in a single season since the 2020-21 campaign.
While Ball has shown an ability to contribute as a playmaker, three-point shooter and defender when healthy, he largely struggled this season with the Cavs, averaging 4.6 points per game on 30.1 percent shooting from the field and 27.2 percent from beyond the arc to go along with 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals.
Lonzo did not catch on elsewhere following the trade to Utah, but LaVar called for the Charlotte Hornets to potentially unite Lonzo and LaMelo, saying, “Charlotte, go get them boys. Trust me.”
The truth is simple. The Knicks didn’t sweep Cleveland because of a trade from years ago, but in LaVar’s world, every loss has a convenient storyline, and every storyline somehow leads back to the Ball family being at the center of basketball destiny.
LaVar Ball on the Cavs being swept by the Knicks:
“They got my son Lonzo for this exact moment. Y’all didn’t get him for the season, you got him for this right here and look how you get blown out… Charlotte go get them boys.”
(h/t @SnapshotKyle) pic.twitter.com/eVKOb3NORU
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 26, 2026
And honestly, at this point, the NBA might as well just let him have his own trophy.
