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Lonzo Ball made his return to an NBA court last season following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, as the former #3 overall pick missed the entirety 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons due to injury.
While Lonzo Ball has developed into a respectable NBA player, he’s certainly not the superstar his father LaVar Ball predicted he’d be when he attempted to launch the “Big Baller Brand” company in 2016.
To the surprise of many, not only is Big Baller Brand still in business — selling $60 t-shirts, we might add — but they’re also still making shoes, with LaVar seemingly gifting a pair to his son Lonzo ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers home opener against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.
The video of the exchange painted a sad scene, however, as the consensus from NBA fans and their body language reading abilities was that Lonzo couldn’t have possibly looked more disinterested.
Sad video of LaVar Ball giving Lonzo Ball a new pair of Big Baller Brand sneakers goes viral
LaVar Ball shows Lonzo the #Cavs Big Baller Brand shoes before the home opener pic.twitter.com/VitrvjFsO3
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) October 26, 2025
Zo aint got the heart to tell him 🥹 https://t.co/3Lm0RSvAP0
— 73-9 and THEY LIED (@CuffsTheLegend) October 27, 2025
When u open up the fake J’s that your granddad copped you for Xmas in front of everyone https://t.co/j6ijnzLQEW
— Cozy🍾Altidore (@clicquotvision) October 27, 2025
The exchange was made all the more awkward by the fact that Lonzo admitted in the past that he believes wearing BBB sneakers might have contributed to his injury problems.
“I think it’s a possibility for sure, to be honest with you,” Ball told ESPN in 2024. “I wasn’t really getting hurt like that until I started wearing them,” adding that the sneakers were like “kickball shoes.”
Ball has featured in the first three games on the season for the Cavs, averaging 23 minutes per game. In those 23 minutes, Zo is currently averaging 5.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per contest.