Lavar Ball and his Big Baller Brand may have you on either side of love or hate but one thing is for sure his next venture is going to be making some noise.
On Wednesday (Dec 20) Lavar announced that he was launching a new league specifically for high school graduates as an alternative to college. The “Junior Basketball Association” is said to provide high school athletes the ability to hone their craft while pursuing NBA allowing them to earn up to $10,000 per month.
“Getting these players is going to be easy,” Ball revealed to ESPN’s Darren Rovell. “This is giving guys a chance to get a jump start on their career, to be seen by pro scouts, and we’re going to pay them because someone has to pay these kids.”
BREAKING: LaVar Ball Launches League That Will Pay Top HS Prospects Up to $10K Per Month & Serve As An Alternative to College pic.twitter.com/EpKfkPrSas
— Big Baller Brand (@bigballerbrand) December 20, 2017
Ball said the rules of his league will follow those of the NBA instead of college — 12-minute quarters and a pro 3-point line, allowing players whose aim is to qualify for the NBA to get the real experience of what it’s like playing at the professional capacity of the pros.
In regards to why Ball decided to start the league despite his youngest two sons signed to play in Lithuania, Ball said he was partly motivated by the comments made earlier in the month by NCAA president Mark Emmert, who was asked at a SportsBusiness Journal conference whether Ball was good or bad for the college game.
“He was right,” Ball said. “Those kids who are one-and-done, they shouldn’t be there with the NCAA trying to hold them hostage, not allowing them to keep the jersey they wear while selling replicas of them in stores. So our guy isn’t going to go to Florida State for a year. He’s going to come to our league.”
The league will be completely sponsored by the family’s Big Baller Brand, meaning players will not be permitted to wear any products made by another brand on the court.
“We’ll give it to them all,” Ball said. “They’ll be wearing our uniform, our shoes, our T-shirts and our hoodies.”
While many have not agreed with Ball’s approach and behavior with his sons, the move of starting a league for young athletes to earn money while doing what they love has softened his image to naysayers, as Twitter weighed in on the announcement with overwhelming support.
Shout out to Lavar Ball for creating the JBA, so that high school and college players won't continue to get exploited by playing for free, while colleges rake in billions from their talents ✊??? pic.twitter.com/pTfmj3dJha
— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) December 20, 2017
LaVar Ball is about to become one of the NCAA’s biggest nightmares soon. All it’s going to take is for one All American to commit to his league and it’ll all fall in place from there.
— #SHALIEVE (@NeilOT50YL) December 20, 2017
Lavar Ball giving opportunities to top recruits and getting them paid legally. Dude is a genius, hope it works out cuz he's definitely pushing the envelope.
— Ahmed/they don't like me cuz i'm white & i rap ? (@big_business_) December 20, 2017
Live look at LaVar Ball pic.twitter.com/1VficaFMyq
— Joey Langone (@JoeyLangone) December 20, 2017
As of press time, the official launch date of the league hadn’t been announced but we are sure Lavar will let us all know soon.
