“Michael Jordan couldn’t command [$495] for shoes. Because he ain’t Lonzo Ball, that’s why. Did he have his own brand coming in? It’s a new era called the Ball era.” Such was the confidence that LaVar Ball had in his son to promote his line of shoes. After making a mark with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, the NBA star’s father launched his own sneakers line, aka the ‘Big Baller Brand’. With a valuation of $1 billion, as reportedly claimed by LaVar himself, the brand brought in all three of LaVar’s children to promote it. However, it didn’t take too long for Lonzo Ball to abandon it! As it turns out, he had a few good reasons for doing so.

During a recent interview with ESPN, the now Chicago Bulls point guard revealed how, since high school, he was an admirer of Adidas sneakers. Another common trait he shared with Michael Jordan! However, the player later revealed, “But what was told to me, I guess, wasn’t what really happened. I was told that nobody wanted to partner with me, so my dad was like, ‘Just rock the brand.’ And I was like, ‘All right.’”

The lack of interest from major brands, even giants like Adidas, a company worth $45 billion, is baffling. After all, the 14.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists he averaged, over 36 games, created his identity. Furthermore, if brands didn’t come earlier, they would have once Ball became the 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. This raises the question: did LaVar Ball allegedly manipulate his son? In the end, it didn’t matter because the ‘Big Baller Brand’ shoes were not compatible with the NBA player at all.

“They were like kickball shoes” said Ball, when describing the first shoes LaVar made for Lonzo to wear. This was during the 2017 NBA summer league. He soon kept those shoes to the side. Lonzo played the rest of the Summer League, either wearing a pair of the Air Jordan XXXI, Nike Kobe A.D., Adidas Harden LS, or the Under Armour Curry 4. He returned to wearing ‘BBB’s shoes once Skechers began to manufacture them. However, the point guard was not happy with them, either. Furthermore, he believes that the shoes may have caused his right meniscus injury back in 2018.

“I think it’s a possibility for sure, to be honest with you,” Ball added. “I wasn’t really getting hurt like that until I started wearing them.”

The 2018 All-Rookie Second Team player wasn’t the only one to hold this belief. Fox Sports radio host Doug Gottlieb also went on the record. He stated that the BBB shoes may have played a role in the player sustaining a knee ailment. Now, Lonzo Ball has abandoned BBB altogether. More than often, people have seen him wearing Kobe Bryant‘s signature retro shoes. Lonzo even wore the Nike Kobe 11 4KB, in the “White Horse” colorway, during the Bulls’ media day. LaVar Ball hasn’t been too vocal about his son’s shift from his own brand. However, he did have some words to share when Lonzo made the shift during the 2017 Summer League.

LaVar ‘revealed’ that Lonzo Ball abandoned BBB shoes to spite other prominent brands: “Brand is nothing without the players”

The fact that Lonzo Ball abandoned his own father’s shoe line in favor of Jordans, Kobes, and even Curry’s Under Armour line would have been a bad ‘PR’ crisis for the ‘Big Baller Brand’. Therefore, LaVar Ball went out of his way to do some ‘damage control’.

In a 2017 report by Darren Rovell, Lonzo Ball’s father provided a defense via a text message. He wrote that Lonzo wearing the other shoes was “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.” It is important to mention here that there was a proposed billon-dollar licensing deal that LaVar wanted to use to partner up with either Nike, Adidas, or Under Armour. However, they did not reach an agreement. Therefore, LaVar believed that if Lonzo scored high whilst donning Nike, the brand would return to bargain.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you believe that LaVar Ball did manipulate Lonzo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.