Meet the insane twin super fans who got matching tattoos of LaVar Ball
For some (if not most), the thought of getting a tattoo of LaVar Ball is one that only leads to action as the result of a lost bet or poor finish in fantasy football. For Nauris and Normunds Macius, two brothers and basketball fanatics with roots in Latvia and Lithuania, the Big Baller Brand CEO’s sojourn to Prienai with LiAngelo, LaMelo and much of the rest of the Ball family was reason enough to get his smiling mug plastered permanently onto their bellies.
According to our sources in Lithuania, the Macius brothers are known as much for their body art as for their hoops fandom. The Latvian-born twins, who have been Lithuanian citizens since 2013, also sport tattoos of local legends like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Arvydas Sabonis and current Toronto Raptors big man Jonas Valanciunas. They have been known to follow the Lithuanian national team all over the world, wherever and whenever the squad has gone to compete.
The Macius brothers aren’t universally loved in Lithuania, though—far from it. They remain in poor standing with Zalgiris Kaunas, the biggest club in the Lithuanian (LKL) League, following an incident from nearly five years ago.
According to 15min.lt, In March 2013, the brothers drunkenly attacked former NBA forward Rudy Fernandez on his way back to the team bus after a contentious Euroleague game between Zalgiris and Real Madrid. Fernandez had been involved in a late-game dustup with Zalgiris players, so the brothers took it upon themselves to intervene afterwards.
Zalgiris was fined 25,000 euros for its inability to control its own fans—in this instance, the Macius brothers, who were banned from the Euroleague as a result of their actions. They promised to repay their debt but have yet to do so, earning the ire of Zalgiris supporters.
Now, the twins appear to have latched onto Vytautas. They can certainly relate to the familial ties the club promotes, wearing Gelo and Melo’s jerseys, and identify with LaVar’s penchant for stirring up unusual trouble.
Their dedication to supporting the team and its American benefactors has gotten them some shine on the family’s social media channels.
Considering the Macius brothers’ past transgressions, fans in Kaunas are probably happy to have them off their bandwagon and onto that of the LKL’s last-place team.