Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball and his father LaVar created the Big Baller Brand after Lonzo declared for the NBA draft instead of signing a traditional endorsement deal with a big company.
Lonzo already has his first signature shoe for the brand, the ZO2s, which are on sale now on the brand’s website, but won’t be delivered until November.
While many people have criticized the Ball family for creating their own brand, rapper Jay-Z recently supported them as he said he bought three pairs of shoes.
TMZ recently caught up with Lonzo, and he thanked Jay-Z for supporting him, although he said that Jay-Z will not be receiving his shoes earlier than the November release date:
Lonzo has yet to play an NBA game but he was wearing his shoes for the first two games of the Las Vegas Summer League. He then switched to the big brands for the next four games, wearing a pair of Nikes, Adidas, Under Armours and Jordans in what he described was creating a bidding war between the brands.
He definitely helped his case by playing well, leading the Lakers to their first ever Summer League championship earning MVP honors along the way.
It will be interesting to see if Lonzo can repeat that success in actual NBA games, as he will be handed the keys to head coach Luke Walton’s offense as the starting point guard. Both owner Jeanie Buss and president of basketball operations Magic Johnson have set high expectations for the young rookie, so the pressure will be on him to live up to it.
No one is more prepared for that pressure than Lonzo though as he grew up with it as LaVar is more outspoken than any other parent about expecting his sons to succeed.