In an exclusive interview with SLAM magazine, LaVar Ball opened up about a serious health scare that led to the amputation of his leg. The outspoken basketball patriarch revealed that an infection in his foot, worsened by unmanaged diabetes, quickly spread through his bloodstream, forcing doctors to perform multiple surgeries to save his life.
“First, they cut off a couple of toes. Then they cut off my foot. Then they said, ‘We gotta go almost knee-high for another surgery,’” Ball recalled. “Three surgeries. And then there were also the blood transfusions. Not one, not two, not three—four different times.”
At times, Ball admitted, the ordeal made him question whether he could keep going. “It made me think, ‘Man, just kill me and let me go about my business,’” he said. But the support of his three sons—NBA players Lonzo and LaMelo Ball and rising musician LiAngelo Ball—helped him push through. “Seeing what my boys are doing out there, they’re like, ‘Dad, you’re the toughest dude I know.’ That made me keep going.”
While hospitalized, Ball struggled to process the news that LiAngelo’s song Tweaker was becoming a viral hit. “Even though I was kind of slurring with my speech, Gelo understood what I was trying to say. I remember just telling him, ‘Keep doing your thing. And make sure you take care of your brothers.’”
Now, Ball hopes his experience will serve as a wake-up call for others—especially Black men—to take their health seriously. “One thing you better have is family to get you through that stuff,” he emphasized. “But if you got diabetes, don’t just be like, ‘Oh, that’s just diabetes.’ Get your checkups, do what you’re supposed to do.”
Despite the setback, Ball remains as confident as ever. “My foot is gone, but my brain is still here,” he said. “I still want to be on this journey… I got some bigger stuff that the Big Baller still gotta do.”
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