LaVar Ball has built a reputation for making unadulterated and unfiltered comments within the NBA community. The father of Timberwolves guard LaMelo Ball, who played basketball up to the college level without really carving out a name for himself, famously expressed his confidence that he would destroy six-time MVP Michael Jordan in a one-on-one game during their prime. Now, he’s after another potential GOAT in Luka Doncic. LaVar has questioned the Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s status, but fans were quick to put him in his place.

LaVar was a guest on social media star N3ON’s Twitch stream last month. It became a popular segment because he spoke about his divorce case, confirming that he had split up with Tina after being married for almost 30 years. But the same stream also involved a conversation about Doncic, which began when N3ON asked the founder of Big Baller Brand, who the most overrated player in the league was.

“The most overrated player in the NBA,” LaVar thought to himself. “Huh? Overrated? Overrated? Luka,” he declared boldly.

N3On (presumably, like the thousands who saw the clip) made a shocked expression, and the clip went viral on social media. Calling Doncic overrated was bound to do that, considering he’s been regarded as one of the frontrunners for the MVP award almost every year in recent seasons. In the 2025-26 season itself, he averaged 33.5 ppg, 8.3 apg, and 7.7 rpg. He finished fourth in the final MVP voting and may have helped the Lakers get past the second round of the playoffs had he not missed the postseason because of a hamstring strain.

These thoughts might just have crossed LaVar’s mind as soon as he took Luka’s name because, almost immediately, he decided to correct himself.

“I just said that cuz his name starts with the L. But anyways, he ain’t overrated,” LaVar Ball completed his chain of thought. “See, that caused controversy. That caused controversy right there. No, Luka can go, man. I don’t know who’s really overrated. If you’re in the pros, ain’t no overrated in the pros. I was jokingly saying that because cuz I know he’s so rated. I was going to give you that like that.”

Was that LaVar realizing he had just made himself a target of the LakeShow? Perhaps. He went from naming Doncic to not naming anyone at all, emphasizing that they’re all pros in the biggest basketball league in the world. They all ought to be respected. Fans certainly thought that LaVar was not joking, which is why when the clip of himself calling Doncic “overrated” circulated online, they let their feelings be known.

Fans point toward LaVar’s son LaMelo amid Doncic disrespect

Who is the most overrated player in the NBA? It’s a question fans love to discuss, and the claims among players are bold, too. In a survey conducted by The Athletic in 2025, players anonymously voted the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton as the most overrated, only for him to lead his team to the NBA Finals. In 2026, that not-so-prestigious title went to the Rockets’ Alperen Sengun. Former Hawks guard Trae Young and the Timberwolves’ big man Rudy Gobert were also among those voted toward the top, but Doncic was nowhere close in either list.

That’s why, even though LaVar slipped Doncic’s name out as a joke, fans were ready to slander him. One of them pointed out on social media how both Luka Doncic and LaMelo Ball are dynamic PGs, yet only the former has reached the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, Ball has zero playoff appearances.

The fan said, “Luka and ya son play the same position and Lamelo never been to the offs yet.” Another similar comment stated, “OG saying that when none of his kids have reached the NBA finals is wild.”

Some even thought that LaVar — father of LaMelo, Lonzo, and LiAngelo (now a former player turned rapper) — is simply jealous that Lonzo isn’t a member of the Lakers like Doncic is. The purple and gold did draft him No. 2 in the 2017 NBA Draft, but he failed to settle in L.A. and was made part of the trade package that brought Anthony Davis to Los Angeles in 2019. LaVar, even then, was furious and declared that the Lakers would never win a championship. News flash for him: they went on to win the very next year, with Davis playing a crucial role.

“He is still mad at the Lakers for getting rid of Lonzo,” another fan wrote.

Another comment reminded LaVar that Luka Doncic just secured the NBA scoring title. He averaged a staggering 33.5 points per game over the season. That too, there were stretches where LeBron and Austin Reaves were absent from the team. “The scoring champ is overrated? Stfu Lavar.”

Whether LaVar meant it or not, he was quick to walk back the remark and insist he was joking. But simply mentioning Luka Doncic in an “overrated” conversation was enough to set off Lakers fans, who wasted no time firing back. As the reactions continue to pour in, the Ball family itself enters a new chapter, with LaMelo now in Minnesota and Lonzo still searching for his next team after leaving the Cavaliers earlier this year.