LaVar Ball reacted to the playful tweets by Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons regarding his son Lonzo, the No. 2 overall pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 NBA Draft. Ben Simmons started the feud when he tweeted “Crazy Pills”, in an apparent reference to LaVar. Embiid chimed in on Simmons’ tweet, saying “Please dunk on him so hard that his daddy runs on the court to save him”, referring to Lonzo.
The outspoken LaVar did not take this lightly. In an interview with 97.5 The Fanatic, LaVar did not hold back on his opinion about Embiid, Simmons and even 76ers rookie Markelle Fultz, who was taken ahead of his son.
LaVar mentioned the 76ers’ losing record and the injury history of Embiid and Simmons, saying they “don’t even stay on the court long enough, that’s the best thing you can do is Tweet, make some stuff”.
According to LaVar, only Simmons and Embiid are spending time on Twitter because every other players are working on their game in the gym. He also advised the two to “get your asses off the goddamn Twitter, and get in the gym.”
LaVar questions collegiate record of Simmons, Fultz
LaVar also criticized the collegiate careers of Simmons and Fultz. While he commended them for making it to the NBA, they failed to make their teammates and their schools better. Simmons averaged posted 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game with LSU but his team finished with a disappointing 19-14 mark.
Fultz, for his part, led Washington to a 9-22 record despite averaging 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in 25 games.
Meanwhile, Lonzo Ball averaged 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game at UCLA to lead the Bruins to a 31-5 record last season after going 15-17 the year before. Ball also led the Bruins to a stint in the Sweet 16.
However, Fultz was tagged by scouts and NBA executives as the best point guard in the 2017 Draft. The 76ers even traded up to No. 1, sending the No. 3 pick and another first-round selection to the Boston Celtics, to get Fultz.
76ers fans confident of their chances next season
Excited about their campaign next season, Sixers fans came up with an acronym for their newest players.
According to Embiid, fans have dubbed the 76ers frontline as FEDS or Fultz, Embiid, Dario (Saric), Simmons. After missing the first two years of his NBA career due to injury, Embiid played 31 games last season, averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks. Simmons missed his rookie year last season due to a due to a broken foot but is healthy to play in the coming season.
