Lavar Ball is an American media personality, businessman, former NFL player, and personal trainer. He played both football and basketball in high school and college, but eventually decided to pursue a career in football. Unfortunately, his football career was ended abruptly due to injury, leading to his retirement to originally become a personal trainer in California.
He is popular, not for playing professional football, but the father of three talented NFL players and also for his penchant for controversy. Mr. Ball is the Founder and CEO of Big Baller Brand, an athletic apparel company and the Junior Basketball Association (JBA).
Who is Lavar Ball? (Age)
Born October 23, 1967 in Los Angeles,California, the former defensive/tight end, is his parents’ fourth child. He grew up in South Los Angeles with his brothers LaFrance, LaValle, LaRenzo and Lashon and his two sisters.
Lavar Ball was a student at Canoga Park High School, Canoga Park, Los Angeles and West Los Angeles College. In high school, he played with the school football team and was a well-respected quarterback. He broke the school record for a season total of 316 rebounds. The athlete also played basketball as a forward.
As he progressed, he enrolled in West Los Angelescollege, majoring in criminal law, with hopes of becoming a US Marshal. At the same time, he shifted his focus to basketball and began his college career at the low-tier Western State Conference despite his little experience in the sport. He later transferred to Washington State University, where he played one season with the Cougars basketball team before transferring back to California State University in Los Angeles.
After retiring from his college basketball career, the athlete played college football at Long Beach City College for a year. His brief tenure as a collegiate star earned him an invite to an NFL tryout and an eventual signing with the New York Jets as a defensive end. He briefly played for the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football and was also part of the training squad for the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers during his NFL career.Unfortunately, Lavar Ball never played an official regular season game in the National Football League prior to his final retirement from the game in 1995 due to injury.
Wealth (income and earnings)
LaVar Ball is said to have an estimated net worth of $4 million. After saving some money from football, he established himself as a personal trainer. Although he still makes money from his clients by helping them achieve their fitness goals, LaVar Ball also has some lucrative side hustles.
In 2016, he founded an athletic apparel company, dubbed Big Baller Brand, or “BBB” for short, and on May 4, 2017, the company announced its first pair of shoes, the ZO2, which retailed for $495. In September of the following year, LaVar’s company announced a signature shoe for its youngest son. Dubbed the Melo Ball 1 (MB1), the shoe was sold on pre-order for $395.
Mister. Ball also created a shoe brand called Gelo 3 (later rebranded as G3 Lux) for his second son, which was also priced at $395. LaVar Ball also revealed that there is an upcoming signature shoe for him and his wife.
In December 2017, the former basketball player announced that he would help establish a basketball league, the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), with full funding from the Big Baller brand.
The Ball family also has a reality show called Ball in the Family, which airs exclusively on Facebook.
Family – parents, wife, sons
LaVar has been married to Tina Catherine Slatinsky for more than two decades. Tina, daughter of Robert and Catherine Slatinsky, was born on December 11, 1967 in Miami, Florida. She attended Alta Loma High School, where she played basketball before transferring to California State University in Los Angeles. There she continued her collegiate basketball career, playing for the Los Angeles Golden Eagle women’s basketball team.
After LaVar’s NFL career ended in 1995, they moved to an affluent neighborhood in Los Angeles, where Tina got a job at a middle school as a physical education teacher. She also directed local sports programs and is responsible for making the costumes for a production of Beauty and the Beast. As a result of her creativity and thoughtfulness, Tina was made the lead designer of the Big Baller brand.
She suffered a massive stroke in February 2017 which left her right side paralyzed and she suffered from aphasia, a condition that makes it difficult for her to regain words when trying to speak. Since the incident, she has been heavily dependent on her parents, especially her father, who helps her with exercises to regain her speech. She is slowly recovering and is back on her feet.
LaVar Ball and his wife have three sons, Lonzo (born October 27, 1997), LiAngelo (born November 24, 1998), and LaMelo (born August 22, 2001). Like their parents, the three boys are basketball players and have managed to become celebrities in the business.
Especially the first son, Lonzo, is the most popular among the LarVar sons. He was personally coached by his father and due to his stellar college basketball career with the UCLA Bruins, the Los Angeles Lakers picked him second overall during the 2017 NBA draft. Lonzo had a baby girl named Zoey Christina Ball on July 22, 2018 by his high school sweetheart Denise Garcia.
LiAngelo originally agreed to play for the UCLA Bruins but left the university after being suspended for a shoplifting charge in China in November 2017. He then played for BC Prienai of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). LiAngelo currently plays for the Los Angeles Ballers of the JBA.
The youngest of Ball’s family, LaMelo is one of the most popular teenage basketball players. He played for BC Prienai alongside LiAngelo and now plays for the Los Angeles Ballers of the National Basketball Association.
Height
As anyone would expect from a pro, LaVar Ball is a very tall athlete, particularly a basketball or soccer player. When he entered college he was 1.93 m tall and weighed 113 kg. However, he added a few inches and pounds and now measures 6ft 6in (1.98m) and weighs 263lb (119kg).
