LaVar Ball Still Thinks He Can Beat Michael Jordan 1-on-1 Despite Foot Amputation: “I Could Give Him 70”
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For better or worse, LaVar Ball’s ego is always on full display, and as the father of two sons in the NBA, he’s earned some of that constant smack talk.
Last week, we reported that Ball had his foot amputated after a serious medical issue, and if his beaming smile in a photo of him sitting in a wheelchair wasn’t evidence enough, the Ball patriarch has proved he’s still in high spirits.
In fact, he’s already back to trash-talking Michael Jordan by dredging up his old claim of torching him in a 1-on-1 game. Even without his foot, Ball still thinks he’s got a chance and made it evident in a recent TikTok video.
“People been saying I still can’t beat Michael Jordan 1-on-1, especially without my foot. Well, guess what? If I really wanted to, I could give him 70,” he exclaimed before singing along to the chorus of his son LiAngelo’s song ‘Tweaker.’
Ball’s been making the bold claim for eight years now, first telling USA Today Sports in 2017 that back when he was in peak physical conditioning, he would have had the upper hand against MJ, praising his own ability to drive.
“He cannot stop me one-on-one,” Ball said. “He better make every shot because he can’t go around me. He’s not fast enough. And he can only make so many shots outside before I make every bucket under the rim.’’
Jordan usually remains pretty quiet, but if we learned anything from the ESPN docuseries The Last Dance, it’s that he loves a challenge—even if it’s pitching pennies against an arena security guard—so he subtly threw a shot at Ball.
“He played, I think, some college maybe. He averaged 2.2 points a game. Really? It doesn’t [deserve] an answer, but I’m going to give it to you because you asked me the question: I don’t think he could beat me if I was one-legged,” Jordan said during one of his Flight School camps.
After being a quarterback and playing basketball in high school, Ball played basketball in college and even became a starting forward for Washington State. But his hoop dreams fizzled as he eventually transferred to Division II school Cal State Los Angeles and later played for the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers’ practice squads.
Still, you gotta love his confidence. See social media’s reaction to Ball’s medical emergency below.
