LaVar: Barkley my favorite NBA player until he got old, started talking crazy
LaVar Ball may have a problem with Charles Barkley the TNT analyst, but he was a fan of Charles Barkley the hooper.
In fact, the father of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball revealed that the undersized power forward was his favorite NBA player:
"Light-skinned, strong, can run, fast, cocky," LaVar explained to UPROXX's Ryan Nagelhout. "That's my dude! But now he got over 50 and started talking crazy - it's OK, I understand that he's changed. ...
"He didn't win nothing. No championships, but the guy was my dude. Strong, just had the wheels. Rebounded the ball. He just played reckless and gave it his all. But he was a bad dude when he played. He was a bad dude."
LaVar and Barkley waged a war of words earlier this year that stemmed from the former saying his son is better than Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry. Barkley criticized LaVar's stance, leading to plenty of name-calling, stat-comparing, and general pettiness between the two outspoken men.
Related: Barkley openly rooting against UCLA to spite LaVar Ball
LaVar also explained why he didn't go with the consensus GOAT as his favorite player.
"Michael Jordan, he was a little too thin for me," the 48-year-old father of three said. "Charles was thick like me. He could move, jump. Strong, heavy-set. I just liked his game.
"People would say 'Oh, Lavar' - particularly when I was bald-headed - you look just like Michael Jordan.' I'd say 'Don't I look more like Charles Barkley?' Skin tone. Tights, come on. Let's keep it real. All black folks don't look like Michael Jordan."
Unsurprisingly, LaVar also feuded with MJ.
Related - Jordan: LaVar couldn't 'beat me if I was 1-legged'