When the world got over the shock that LaVar Ball was able to manufacture his son Lonzo’s signature shoe so quickly, they had questions about the hefty $495 price tag.
The general consensus was that the price point was far too high for a rookie that has yet to be drafted and a player that many would argue choked in his final college game at UCLA.
LaVar appeared on FS1’s Undisputed where he attempted to explain the hefty price tag on the shoes.
“It’s not just a shoe you just go into a store or something like that and you say, ‘You know what, let me get the Kyries, the LeBrons, and by the way, throw in the Z02s. Nah, Z02s mean something, that’s why the price tag is like that.”
He went on to explain that the price tag remains because his son is the first player to have his own brand before ever playing a game in the NBA.
While we commend his entrepreneurship, his subsequent declaration that “If you can’t afford the ZO2’S, you’re NOT a BIG BALLER!” calls into question what his target consumer is. The younger players that will look up to his son can’t afford that and many families don’t have the discretionary income to blow the equivalent of a luxury car note on a pair of sneakers.
Flip the page for the full interview.