CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LaMelo Ball loves his dad, honors his dad, credits his dad with shepherding his basketball success.
But LaVar Ball doesn't speak for LaMelo, nor rule his point of view.
"At the end of the day, what comes out of his mouth, that's him. He's a grown man." LaMelo Ball said in a one-on-one interview with The Charlotte Observer.
"And what comes out of my mouth is for me. Because I'm a grown man, too."
The Charlotte Hornets used the No. 3 pick in Wednesday's NBA draft on Ball, a 19-year-old with a gift for creative passing. Ball comes from a famous family. His brother, New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo, was the second pick of the 2017 draft.
LaVar, who was once on the Carolina Panthers' practice squad, is a bombastic personality who created a web reality show called, "Ball in the Family." He's known for making wild claims: Everything from Lonzo is better than Stephen Curry to Lavar could've beaten Hornets owner Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one.
LaMelo gets why LaVar generates buzz, but to him it's just normal.
"I always heard him talk like this," LaMelo said. "Just hearing him talk like this, it's normal to me. For real."
LaMelo views his father more as the demanding mentor from his youth than the media celebrity he's become.
"He was always that coach who was on me and stuff. He coached me the hardest," LaMelo said.
