Lonzo Ball says he"s "better" than consensus NBA top pick Markelle Fultz

Lonzo Ball says he"s better than Markelle Fultz! || Full Interview || ESPN 710 LA

It turns out that LaVar Ball is not the only member of his family capable of making brash statements. His most famous son (at least at the moment), UCLA star Lonzo Ball, said Tuesday that hes a better player than washingtons markelle fultz, who is widely predicted to be the first pick in Junes NBA draft.

Markelles a great player, but I feel Im better than him, Ball said on ESPN.I think I can lead a team better than him.

Ball can certainly point to team success, as his Bruins had a far better season than Fultzs Huskies. While Ball directed the nations top-scoring offense in leading UCLA to a 31-5 record and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament, Fultz suffered through a 9-22 campaign with Washington, which proceeded to fire longtime head coach Lorenzo Romar.

UCLA trounced Washington in both of their meetings this season, although Fultz missed one with an injured knee and notched 25 points in the other(Ball had 22). For the season, Fultz averaged23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals, with a .476 shooting percentage, including .413 from three-point range. Ball averaged14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.8 steals, shooting .551 overall and .412 from beyond the arc.

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Obviously hes a great scorer hes a great player, so Im not taking that away from him, Ball said of his fellow freshman guard. His father, LaVar, has gained national notoriety with a series of provocative comments, including that he could have beaten Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one and that Lonzo is already a better player than Steph Curry, the reigning two-time NBA MVP.

Lonzo Ball, who has a much more low-key delivery than his father, has said that the latters various pronouncements have not heaped any extra pressure on him. From the sound of it, the soon-to-be-ex-Bruin does not lack for confidence, and many draft analysts agree that he is an elite prospect, albeit possibly with ever-so-slightly less promise thanFultz.

The Vertical has Fultz and Ball going 1-2, respectively, in its latest mock draft, as do Draft Express,ESPNs Chad Ford, CBS Sportss Howard Megdal. Other analysts, such as Sports Illustrateds Andrew Sharp, CBS Sportss Gary Parrishand SB Nations Ricky ODonnell,have Fultz at one but Balltwo or more spots lower.

For his part, Fultz has made clear that hes taken note of b***s comments. The 6-foot-4 Maryland native liked a number of tweets Tuesday from media outlets who wrote about what Ball had to say. In a sign of the times, Fultz even liked a Bleacher Report tweetthat made note of his previous like of this tweet:

Fultz also liked a Huskies tweet touting his inclusion in the AP All-America third team. Joining KansassFrank Mason III,Villanovas Josh Hart,Purdues Caleb Swanigan andNorth Carolinas Justin Jackson on the first team? Lonzo Ball.

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNECsJ9sbI6RYclE9GOw6z6UuXtzRg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779439361330&ei=K_vbWLDRM5GX3AHfqK7ICg&url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/03/29/lonzo-ball-says-hes-better-than-consensus-nba-top-pick-markelle-fultz/