“Them telling me 18 more months recovery (after my third surgery), it sounded crazy in the moment, but now I’m here.” The recent preseason matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves saw Lonzo Ball returning to the NBA court after a whopping 1006 days gap. The journey hasn’t been easy since Lonzo Ball suffered a right meniscus injury in January 2022, requiring multiple surgeries to get his knee back to a playable condition. Due to the long recovery process and in order to maintain steady progress, Ball has had to make some adjustments. As fans observed in a recent game, this even includes continuing to distance himself from his father’s brand.

Amidst the cheers and standing ovation of the crowd at the United Center, Ball arrived at the playing field. While he remained there for just 15 minutes, he still managed to record 10 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist to his name. Along with witnessing the return of the player’s scoring prowess, eagle-eyed fans were also able to notice a change in him. The answer became apparent to them upon glancing down, as Lonzo Ball had chosen to don a pair of the “Bruce Lee Alternate” Kobe 5 for the game. Launched back in 2010, the Nike sneakers paid tribute to the Black Mamba’s love for Bruce Lee, whose Jeet Kune Do philosophy the Lakers star had adopted for himself. With the Red Claw marks on the side just above the Nike swish, accompanied by the iconic Mamba logo adorning the tongue, there was no confusion over which shoes Ball had adorned to play his first professional game after 2.5 years.

Prior to his injury, Lonzo Ball was often seen donning sneakers that belonged to the ‘Big Baller Brand.’ After all, the company is a creation of his own father, aka former New York Jets and Carolina Panthers athlete LaVar Ball. With an estimated valuation of $1 billion, as reportedly stated by LaVar himself back in March, the brand has been sponsored by all three of the businessman’s children: Lonzo, LiAngelo (represented the G League’s Greensboro Swarm team), and LaMelo (represents the Charlotte Hornets). After Lonzo was injured during the matchup against the Golden State Warriors, Fox Sports radio host Doug Gottlieb went on the record to state that the BBB shoes played a role in the player sustaining the knee ailment.

Lonzo Ball himself did not indicate being a big fan of his own father’s shoe brand. In a 2019 interview on Josh Hart’s podcast, the player reportedly joked about how his sneakers would fall apart during his tenure at the NBA Summer League prior to his rookie season. The same year, he reportedly quit the brand and became a sneaker free agent. In his limited appearances over the last few seasons, Ball has often been captured wearing Kobe Bryant‘s signature retro shoes, and had even donned the Nike Kobe 11 4KB, in the “White Horse” colorway, during his appearance at the Bulls’ media day.

Now, at a time when the player needs to be most careful about his knee, he has continued to keep his faith in the Black Mamba’s shoe line instead of the ones which his parent used to built a billion-dollar brand. For those who have been following the player’s journey from the start, it is quite ironic that what may have started out as a marketing tactic resulted in Ball making a full shift.

LaVar once claimed that Lonzo Ball abandoned his shoes for Kobe and Stephen Curry’s out of spite

After Lonzo Ball himself revealed the truth on Josh Hart’s podcast, fans got to know the real reason why the player abandoned the BBB shoes. At that point, however, they were certainly confused on why the young star would not wear the $495 Big Baller Brand ZO2s, and instead opt for either the Nike Kobe ADs, or Adidas’ James Harden, and even Stephen Curry’s signature Under Armour line. Looking to possibly spin the story in his favor, LaVar Ball was quick to come out with a response.

According to a July 2017 report by then ESPN Senior Writer Darren Rovell, Lonzo Ball’s father touched base on his son wearing the signature shoes of other athletes. Via a text message, he wrote “It’s making a statement to the brands of what they could have had with an open mind. The players are the brand ambassadors. The brand is nothing without the players.” This was a possible reference to the proposed billon-dollar licensing deal that LaVar reportedly wanted to use to partner up with either Nike, Adidas or Under Armour. Since no agreement was reached, Lonzo entered the Summer League donning his own Big Baller Brand shoe. LaVar believed that if Lonzo would score high whilst donning a pair of Nike’s, the brand themselves would come back to the bargaining table.

Years later, not only did LaVar not get a deal with Nike, his own son is now wearing their shoes as a sneaker free agent. With the player looking to continue playing on in the preseason with a minutes restriction, we may get more glimpses of him wearing different variations of the Nike Kobes.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.