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Darren Rovell
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ESPN Senior Writer
- ESPN.com’s sports business reporter since 2012; previously at ESPN from 2000-06
- Appears on SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com and with ABC News
- Formerly worked as analyst at CNBC
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Nick DePaula
You no longer have to be as big of a baller to afford Big Baller Brand shoes.
The shoe brand, founded by LaVar Ball and endorsed by his sons Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo, released its second version of Lonzo’s shoes — and the price is 60 percent lower than the first versions.
Much of the attention surrounding the Big Baller Brand last year was the price tag. The ZO2’s cost $495 and up to $695 for the bigger sizes. This year’s version, revealed online for preorder on Wednesday, are $200 each.
“The $495 price point achieved its goal of being crazy disruptive, achieved its goal of making people look up and seeing the audacity and the swagger that Big Baller Brand has,” said David Raysse, who designed the shoes. “The fact that we could even do that says a lot about the fact that it’s a movement more than anything else.”
Despite the price drop, the Ball shoe is the most expensive mainstream shoe on the market. The Air Jordan XXXIII, which hits the shelves on Thursday, costs $175 a pair. The LeBron 16’s cost $185. But Raysse says the shoe will now be seen as affordable to a key demographic.
“Zo is the face of the future of the NBA and the youth, and we wanted to make sure that his second shoe was accessible to kids, so that they can really be a part of this,” he said. “The price point is in line with all the competition out there.”
Lonzo, a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, hasn’t worn Big Baller Brand shoes on the court all preseason, favoring Nikes for games. He did wear shoes with “BBB” branded on the tongue for pictures for media day. The BBB brand will still make a player exclusive version of Lonzo’s shoe for $495.
There was a time when LaVar commanded the attention of almost everyone and the Big Baller Brand was at least top of mind whenever he opened his mouth. Things changed when Ball took LiAngelo and LaMelo to play in Lithuania, and the brand’s relevance plummeted, as evidenced by the decline in people searching for the brand on Google in 2018, compared to the year before.