LaVar Ball Says a Shoe Is Not That Big of a Deal, It's 'Stitching and Glue'
On an episode of Sneaker Shopping with Complex's Joe La Puma on Monday, LaVar Ball downplayed the complexity of creating a signature shoe.
Ball appeared on the show with sons Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo:
With regard to the Big Baller Brand ZO2, which is Lonzo's first signature shoe, LaVar said the following: "Everything on that shoe, Lonzo created with no team. Just the creativity of a 19-year-old that knows what he likes. After all these shoes, it's a mixture of everything that he likes ... A shoe is not that big of a deal. It's two things, stitching and glue. It isn't a science project."
The Ball family patriarch also said it only took about "three or four hours" to create the ZO2.
Ball has been the subject of criticism due to the $495 price tag attached to the shoe, but he explained the rationale behind it on FS1's Undisputed (h/t Nick Schwartz of FoxSports.com) in May:
"I expected this reaction. The fact that people are losing sight—they're looking at the price tag and not understanding that Lonzo's shoe is symbolic. That comes with a price tag. Symbolic as he's the first one ever to come in here without even playing a game and have his own brand. It's not just a shoe you just go in a store or something like that and you say, 'You know what, let me get the Kyrie, the LeBron ... by the way, throw in the ZO2."
While the elder Ball negotiated with Nike, Under Armour and Adidas, his desire to co-license with Big Baller Brand reportedly played into the failure to strike a deal, per ESPN.com's Darren Rovell.
Lonzo is considered one of the top prospects in the 2017 NBA draft and is likely to be one of the first players off the board after a spectacular season at UCLA.
