Whole New Ball Game

Love ’em or hate ’em, this much is fact: the ball family has bum-rushed the world of basketball with such force that they’ve become impossible to ignore. Here, lavar ball, the captain of the ship, writes about how their independent brand came together and the motivation behind the movement.

- Lavar Ball

OWNERSHIP AND INDEPENDENCE is everything.

Our family’s movement is about letting other parents and prospects know, “Hey, you don’t have to feel pressured into thinking that there aren’t many options. There’s a different route that you can take in this.”

All we want to do is plant the seed and watch it grow. Show people that it can be done. Show parents that it’s possible: We don’t need the big companies. They need us. And so we should work together.

Big Baller Brand wants to show the next generation that there’s a difference between building wealth and just being rich. This isn’t about getting that early money—just another athlete signing a regular endorsement deal. That would have been the easier route. But we’ve embarked on a mission. We want to go beyond just inspiring athletes. It’s about those small business owners that stay up at night plotting their next move and figuring out how to stay afloat.

We know of the impact that this is having on the industry because we’ve already witnessed a larger conversation rise as a result of Lonzo announcing his ZO2 signature shoe. The dialogue that it has started is a step in the right direction. It shows that we’ve already made progress.

One of the most important things that a parent can do for their kid is to stay involved. In the sports world, many parents have let so many people into their kids’ inner circle that there are meetings happening and yet they’re not even invited to any of them. Your son is the endorser but gets no say in it—yet he’s doing all the work. As parents, we have to understand our value, and the value of our children.