The Ball family and their company Big Baller Brand released Lonzo’s first official pair of sneakers last week, and the price tag accompanying them left the basketball community in stitches. Despite that, LaVar Ball insists people are snatching up the kicks.
In an appearance on FS1’s “Undisputed” Monday morning, LaVar was asked how many pairs of Lonzo’s ZO2 Prime shoes have sold since their release. While he did not give the exact amount, the elder Ball said it was more than one for every dollar the shoe costs, which would be more than 495 pairs. He also claimed plenty of people have purchased the $995 pair that comes autographed by Lonzo.
LaVar may be telling the truth. The sneakerhead website NiceKicks.com tracked the inventory of the ZO2 Prime during its first hour of availability, and the results showed that 210 unsigned pairs sold in addition to 53 autographed pairs. The site notes that it has no access to sales receipts or transaction records, so their estimates may be slightly off.
In any event, selling around 500 pairs at $495 each would be a gross sales of around $250,000. That’s nothing to scoff at, but you’d have to think a company like Nike, Adidas or any other known apparel brand would sell far more.
LaVar Ball is committed to the Big Baller Brand, no matter how much his first shoe product has been ruthlessly mocked on Twitter. From his perspective, any type of publicity is good publicity.
