When Lonzo Ball showed up at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas wearing something other than the exorbitantly-priced ZO2s, the basketball world collectively began to wonder whether we’d been the ancillary target of an elaborate ruse perpetrated by the ubiquitous Ball family to land a sneaker deal with one of three main shoe giants.
Of course, the Kobe AD’s he sported in a win over the Sixers might’ve also just been a simple homage to the Lakers legend whose metaphorical shoes he’s been tapped to fill. When asked about it after the game, his answer left room for plenty of ambiguity. If the Ball family is indeed in the market for a major shoe contract, Charles Barkely has his own ideas about who he should team up with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQAgti9CC8I
Barkley, of course, had his own signature shoe with Nike back during his heyday and subsequently appeared in those infamous “I Am Not a Role Model” commercials. If that wasn’t enough, he was also currently wearing a white cap blazoned with the iconic Nike swoosh on it when the TMZ cameraman asked the question.
Nike, however, didn’t bite even after Lonzo wore the Kobe’s during Summer League, so if that was their ace in the hole, it looks like it’s back to square one.
