LaVar Ball has finally commented publicly on people saying that the ZO2 shoes made by Big Baller Brand used to regularly break while Lonzo was playing in them.
“You can get hurt in any shoe you wear. Truth be told, Nike’s track record of getting people hurt is better than mine. Kobe got hurt. KD got tore up. Anybody who wears shoes, Curry with the Under Armour. Zion tore his shoe up, but you wanna create a narrative that, ‘LaVar, his shoes messed up Lonzo a long time ago’. Wait, Lonzo tore his knee up in Nike’s. He was good in my show. He hurt his ankle in my shoe, but the knee was in Nike’s… Lonzo was playing 100 miles per hour in a 50 miles per hour shoe. Two things can happen, either the shoe gonna give or the body gonna give. They tore that boy’s knees up, going 100 miles an hour. Nike done tore you up.”
LaVar also explained how Lonzo wearing Kobe’s shoes wasn’t the right decision because those shoes were designed with Kobe’s playstyle in mind. He claimed that the next shoe he makes will be fully designed with Lonzo’s foot in mind.
Lonzo Ball finally put the pieces of being a high-value player in the NBA together in his debut season with the Chicago Bulls. Unfortunately, that ended soon when Ball hurt his knee in January 2022. He hasn’t played a game since and is likely to miss the entire 2023/24 season as well.
LaVar Ball Disputes Story That Lonzo Carried Multiple Pairs To Change During Games
Lonzo had publicly trashed the shoes he wore with the Big Baller Brand, claiming they used to break very easily, and he would wear a new pair every quarter. LaVar disagreed with this story, even blaming Lonzo for designing bad shoes.
“Lonzo said some things that didn’t resonate the right way. First of all, if you’re saying you had these shoes, why are we talking about shoes nobody ever got? Do you know what size shoe Lonzo wears? 13. Get yourself a backpack and see how many pairs of them shoes you can put in that backpack. It won’t be three to four pairs. Is there any footage of him changing those shoes? The ones that tore were prototypes, guess who designed the shoe? Lonzo. You not no shoe designer, and the shoe cam all apart the way you wanted it.”
Even the Lakers felt like the Big Baller Brand shoes Lonzo used to wear early in his career exacerbated his injuries. While LaVar took accountability for the ankle injuries, it’s clear he doesn’t think the shoes were the reason behind Lonzo’s knee ultimately being hurt.
Lonzo Ball Was Entering His Prime
After being miscast as a future superstar at the start of his Lakers tenure, Ball seemed to thrive after being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. He had built a strong partnership with Zion Williamson in the 2021/22 season before joining the Bulls via sign-and-trade.
With the Bulls, Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 35 games and was crucial in the team’s defensive scheme. The Bulls were leading the East at points in that season and were one of the best defensive squads in the league. All of that cohesion fell apart with Ball’s injury, and the Bulls haven’t been competitive since.
Hopefully, he can translate his shooting progress whenever he eventually returns. He’s still a deft playmaker but will likely not be able to defend like he used to pre-injury whenever he does return.
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