LaMelo Ball sat down for the first episode of 'The LaVar Ball Show' with his father, LaVar, and brothers, Lonzo and LiAngelo , where they spoke about several topics from around the league and their personal lives.
Amid the conversation, LaVar Ball asked his sons to enlist their top five guards of all time in the league. While Lonzo Ball and LiAngelo Ball had concrete lists, LaMelo could only recall three names before he deferred to his brothers' answers.
"Five all-time guards? S–t, probably, I feel like my answers for these types of questions change every day," said LaMelo Ball before giving his list.
"But probably Steph Curry, Kyrie, Magic, the same people they said, I don't really care, bro," he further added before the other broke out in laughter. It seems like Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas would have been his other picks.
Before LaMelo spoke, both Lonzo and LiAngelo also gave their individual lists, which were fairly similar to what LaMelo said.
"Top five? Magic, Steph… D Rose, Penny [Hardaway], and Isiah Thomas," said Lonzo Ball . LiAngelo felt that Kyrie Irving and LaMelo Ball have done enough to earn a spot in his top five list instead of Hardaway and Thomas. The rest of his list was the same as Lonzo's.
LaVar Ball then quickly pivoted to shooting guards, which implies that he only meant point guards when he initially asked his sons that question. It seems he did not ask LaMelo Ball for that answer, as he prefers not to indulge in such list-based questions.
Michael Jordan , Kobe Bryant , Allen Iverson , and Dwyane Wade were common names for both Lonzo Ball and LiAngelo Ball. But LiAngelo Ball ranked Tracy McGrady over James Harden on his top-five shooting guards list, which is rather surprising.
James Harden , in his 17 seasons in the NBA, has averaged 24.0 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.6 rebounds while going 43.9% from the field and 36.4% from behind the three-point line. He was selected to play in 11 All-Star games and has won one Sixth Man of the Year award and one MVP award.
Meanwhile, Tracy McGrady averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists as he shot 43.5% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc. He was selected to play in 7 All-Star games and won one Most Improved Player award. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
Therefore, Harden has four more All-Star appearances and one MVP award over McGrady's achievements, beyond clearly being better than McGrady in every statistical category. It seems Harden's name just slipped LiAngelo Ball's mind, as McGrady's career was nowhere close to Harden's.
Do you think it would make any sense to pick McGrady over Harden on your all-time list beyond a personal bias? Let us know what you feel in the comments section.
