LaVar Ball says that his sons, Lonzo, LaMelo, and LiAngelo are the reason that he’s kept going amid his health problems that involved getting his foot amputated.
Ball opened up about his battle with diabetes to Slam Magazine (around the six-minute mark of the following) video. “I must admit, my boys kept me rolling because a couple of times I was like, ‘I can’t do any more blood transfusions, I can’t do any more operations on my body, I’m ready to shut it down,’” said Ball. “It was enough for me, but I’m here for a bigger purpose.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ball explained what happened with the surgery that led to his amputation. “First, they cut off a couple of toes. Then, they cut off my foot,” said Ball. “Then, they said ‘We almost gotta go knee high for another surgery.’ I’m just like these surgeries; this is too many. It makes you think, just kill me and let me go about my business.”
Late last month, Ball began joking about his amputation online.
He recorded a Cameo video message for one of his TikTok fans named “Primby” and mentioned the operation. "Everyone heard what happened, and y'all can take my foot, but you know what you can't take? That Primby account" said LaVar before performing a rendition of "Tweaker."
Days after that, Ball hopped online to make clear that he still believed he could beat Michael Jordan in a 1-on-1 basketball game. Ball shared a TikTok addressing the hypothetical that he’s been adamant about for nearly a decade.
“People have been saying I still can’t beat Michael Jordan 1-on-1, especially without my foot,” said Ball. “Well guess what? If I really wanted to, I could give him 70."
