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The trailer for Lonzo Ball’s reality series only premiered Tuesday morning, but fittingly for a guard known for his impact on his team’s pace, the first two episodes dropped with the speed of one of Ball’s hit ahead passes later that same evening.
After watching them episode, the best way to describe it might be “Keeping up with the Ball-dashians.” The show has every reality TV trope in the book, with various subplots running throughout the episode like LiAngelo Ball moving into Lonzo’s old apartment and whether or not Lonzo and his girlfriend Denise will have any problems now that he’s in the NBA.
The big difference is that instead of this show centering on some random Beverly Hills housewives you’ve never heard of or a glorified a famous for being famous family of vapid wannabe models, it centers on one of the most hyped basketball players on the planet.
The show also leans into those corny reality TV moments in a fun way, with quotes like this jumping up on the screen when a family member drops them:
Ball in the Family, asking the important questions: pic.twitter.com/doJqY8XmEb
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
Or like this one, when Denise is explaining why she wants to put photos of herself in Lonzo’s new place:
Lonzo Ball's girlfriend, on why she should put a picture of herself in his new place pic.twitter.com/PJT7OttTCI
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
Or even introductions like these two, featuring a pair of the greatest resumes of all time:
Putting "all around bad ass" on my LinkedIn pic.twitter.com/d4OdteDfwZ
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
Lonzo Ball has a guy whose job it is to cut his food pic.twitter.com/MKmVrz8rAe
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
Now let’s stop on DMO for a second, and more specifically that last line on his resume. Seems like a throwaway line meant to rib Lonzo, right?
Well, it’s not. Lonzo having people cut food for him came up at least one more time before a scene of him going to dinner with Denise, and you guessed it, HE ACTUALLY HAS PEOPLE CUT HIS FOOD FOR HIM:
Update: SHE IS CUTTING HIS FOOD HE ACTUALLY HAS PEOPLE CUT HIS FOOD pic.twitter.com/hsDtOiG2WV
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
Look at that pose as he realizes the cameras are capturing the whole thing. Now THAT is a Big Baller move.
Now to the real question for most coming into this article: “Should I watch it?”
Well, the answer depends on how much you love or hate reality TV. This show is by no means something that Lakers fans need to watch to understand team dynamics or anything, but if you want to spend 15-or-so fun minutes with the Balls, then there are worse ways to procrastinate during a workday. “Ball in the Family” is an enjoyable and breezy watch, and it will be interesting to see what we start to learn about Lonzo based off of it as the show and his career move forward.
Now you can watch the show below, but first, a few more takeaways:
This show has product placement DOWN pic.twitter.com/dmd6CSLuye
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
Even Lonzo's Grandma is a Big Baller pic.twitter.com/C2nHahsJWL
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
"She eats a lot. She be killing my pockets."- Lonzo joking about his girlfriend Denise. This show is killing me
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
Lonzo Ball Scouting Report
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
Pros:
-Transcendent passer, great shooter
Cons:
-Unable to cut his own steak
All jokes aside, watching LaVar work with his wife as she recovers from a stroke is amazing. He seems like a great dude
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 31, 2017
S1:E1 Bittersweet VictoryMeet LaVar, Tina, and their three boys born to go pro. Under fire from the media, LaVar and the whole family follow Lonzo to New York for Draft Day, but one special person can’t make the trip.
Posted by Ball In The Family on Wednesday, August 30, 2017
S1:E2 Forging a PathLonzo leaves home and gets ready for his next chapter as a Laker. Denise has worries about how their relationship will fare with Lonzo on the road. And LaVar takes Tina’s physical therapy to the next level.
Posted by Ball In The Family on Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.