Los Angeles Lakers introduced the "LaVar Ball Rule"

If you’re not so practical about the NBA, you may not know that in the tangled maze of the American league’s regulations there are some rules that take their name from some players of the Association. For example, one of the most famous is the “Larry Bird Rule”, integrated in 1984, that allows franchisees to run over the Salary Cap to keep a 3-year veteran with the team.

Another one, the “Derrick Rose Rule” - that is actually called the less romantic “5th Year 30% Max Criteria” - has been integrated in 2011, when the at the time MVP from the Chicago Bulls forced the league to consider those players exiting their rookie contract with an MVP award, two All-Star Games participation, or two All-NBA nominations. Well, we have a new rule now: the “LaVar Ball Rule”.

You should all be familiar with the character of LaVar Ball, volcanic father of the Ball brothers, with the oldest one, Lonzo, living his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers. During his son’s first months in the league, but to be honest also several weeks before he was even drafted, LaVar went hard in sharing his opinion with anyone who was willing to listen to him, teasing everyone from LeBron James to Michael Jordan. In the last weeks, though, Daddy Ball’s comments seems to have pulled a face in Lakers management, as the franchise introduced a policy that will prevent media members to access the Staples Center section dedicated to athletes’ family and friends. Of course, this new policy has immediately been named the “LaVar Ball Rule”.

Actually, as they say from the Lakers, the policy was already existing, even if it looks like nobody was caring about it. “There has been more media presence in that area than before. That section is strictly for family and guests of players. It's a privacy concern”. So it’s probably just a coincidence (it’s not a coincidence) that the policy arrived days later to LaVar Ball’s strong comments, first about Julius Randle - guilty of not passing the ball to Lonzo in the end of a game they lost at the overtime - and about Luke Walton, with strong opinions about the work of the former Warriors’ assistant coach. So, if Lonzo has yet to raise his game to leave a mark in the NBA, LaVar Ball already gave his legacy to the posterity.