When Lonzo Ball declared for the NBA Draft in 2017, he entrusted his father, LaVar Ball, to oversee all business matters while he focused on preparing for life in the NBA. As it turns out, that wasn’t the smartest decision by the oldest Ball brother. Under LaVar’s supervision, Big Baller Brand’s co-founder Alan Foster allegedly embezzled an excess of $2 million from Lonzo’s personal and business accounts.
According to Ramona Shelburne and Paul LaVigne of ESPN, Ball raised concerns about Foster’s handling of the brand’s finances, but trusted that LaVar would look into it. It wasn’t until Lonzo’s financial advisor, Humble Lukanga of Life Line Financial Group, stepped in did changes start being made.
In March, Lonzo fired Foster, and since then, he’s been running his own show. During the most recent episode of “The Woj Pod,” Lonzo said that he’s taken all aspects of his personal and professional life into his own hands.
My dad’s always been talking my whole life. It’s nothing different to me. I think what makes it easier is that I’m controlling everything now. Like, you really can’t tell me what to do — it’s my life, it’s my career, I’m making all the decisions now. I chose to go to CAA. I just think me becoming my own man is going to make it easier, honestly.
Now, the hope is that the changes Lonzo made in his life during the offseason will result in him having the best year of his NBA career yet with the New Orleans Pelicans. Considering Alvin Gentry was part of the seven seconds or less movement in Phoenix, there’s reason to believe Lonzo will thrive in New Orleans playing alongside Jrue Holiday, Brandon Ingram, and Zion Williamson. And as an added bonus, the better he performs, the less likely it is he’ll be wearing prototypes of Big Baller Brand sneakers on opening night.
