Nike exec: LaVar Ball worst thing to happen to basketball in last 100 years

A high-ranking Nike executive doesn't sound enamored with LaVar Ball's theatrics. George Raveling, the apparel giant's global basketball sports marketing director, had some choice words about the eccentric sports dad Wednesday.

"The worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years," Raveling said of Ball at the CAA World Congress of Sport, according to SportsBusiness Journal's Michael Smith.

Ball said in March that it would take $1 billion to sign oldest son Lonzo to an apparel contract, an absurd number for a player who has yet to appear in an NBA game. Nike co-founder Phil Knight said afterward that his company has interest in the UCLA product, but not at that price, which is "a little steep."

The initial report by USA Today's Josh Peter also indicated that the billion dollars could be a package deal between Lonzo and younger brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo. However, such a contract couldn't be signed until the younger two are out of UCLA - where both have committed - and in the NBA. The earliest that can happen will be three years from now.

While the senior Ball's outlandish showmanship is a large component of the marketing plan for his sons, it's unusual to see such strong public words from a shoe executive like Raveling, who coached USC from 1986-94.

Furthermore, LaVar Ball reportedly wants any apparel deal to be a partnership with his own brand, Big Baller, which currently sells t-shirts, hoodies, and hats for $60-$100 apiece.

If Nike is out of the running, it essentially leaves Adidas and Under Armour as suitors, unless one of the Chinese shoemakers such as Anta or Li-Ning were willing to step forward.