Chicago Bulls Point Guard Lonzo Ball won’t put the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant ON his NBA Mount Rushmore. Ball, 27, has been recovering from a right wrist sprain, but the right wrist injury might be more serious than reported. In the meantime, Ball has made some headlines surrounding his NBA Mount Rushmore, and no, Bryant, who would’ve been 46 today, wasn’t one of his selections.
Lonzo Ball is a man of many talents, such as his immense athleticism, stellar three-point shooting, and signature left-handed passing. When healthy, Ball’s a talent, just like in his rap music career. Ball released his debut rap album, “Born 2 Ball,” in 2018. However, Ball is arguably far from Bryant’s level of excellence, as Bryant was known for his excellent footwork, lethal jump shot, and superb ability to drive to the basket, so it’s intriguing why the former didn’t include the latter. Here’s why.
Lonzo Ball’s NBA Mount Rushmore
Lonzo Ball recently appeared on Chicago Sky Forward Angel Reese’s podcast, ‘Unapologetically Angel,” and gave Reese, 22, his NBA Mount Rushmore sans the late Kobe Bryant, who was best known for wearing jersey No. 24. Reese opened her questioning to Lonzo Ball with a short and sweet statement, “If you had to pick a top four — no order.”
Ball responded to Reese in the podcast episode, “LeBron, Jordan … I’m going Shaq, [too], because he’s the most dominant ever … And then fourth, I’m going — we just had this debate — I would go Magic, but I’m … it’s looking like Curry might have to find his way in there, honestly.” Reese appeared to ask Ball for clarification, “Why Curry? … Not Kobe?”
He appeared to struggle to find the words for Reese, “Just because of … he’s doing it in a way that … I love Kobe but he was never the best player to me … just because he got the most misses ever, you know what I’m saying? I don’t know.” Ball added, “But back to Curry … His resume and the way he changed the game, he’s the best shooter ever. [He] carried USA like, [there] ain’t nothing that he ain’t did. And he got the rings to back it up, too.”
Fans React To Ball’s Selections
It’s unclear what Lonzo Ball’s exact defense is, but Ball’s defense appears to signal that there are only wrong answers to the question of who the greatest basketball players of all time are. Everybody who discusses the greatest of all time (GOAT) debate will be entitled to their opinion, and Ball’s assessment of the GOAT debate sparked discussion in the podcast episode’s comments section and on other social media platforms.
One user commented in the comments section, “Perfect example of telling me your age without telling me your age!” Another user commented, “Bro wanna be hated by all NBA fans. And another user commented, “Mad Lakers traded him so he talking’ bad ’bout Kobe.” These three users’ comments are a small sample size, but all of their reactions’ to Ball’s selections for his NBA Mount Rushmore are understandable.
Ball’s Previous Outrageous Statement
Lonzo Ball’s selections for his NBA Mount Rushmore were arguably outrageous, but not the first heinous statement coming from a Ball this month. Lonzo’s brother, LaMelo Ball, was fined $100,000 for an anti-gay comment. LaMelo said, “We loaded up, no homo,” when asked about the Charlotte Hornets’ defensive prowess on the final play of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, November 23.
In Sunday’s press conference, LaMelo addressed the comment to the media, “Before we get started, I just want to address the comment yesterday … I really didn’t mean anything [by it] and don’t want to offend anybody. I’ve got love for everybody, and I don’t discriminate.” LaMelo might or might not be forgiven, but back to Lonzo’s NBA Mount Rushmore, as it’s important to note that LeBron James outranked Kobe Bryant on the most-misses-ever list: 14,628 to 14,281.
