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Big Baller Brand (BBB) is an American company that designs, manufactures, and sells clothing and shoes. Launched in 2016 by Alan Foster and
LaVar Ball LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA ...
, it has most notably produced signature shoes for the Ball brothers—basketball players
Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earn ...
,
LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. ...
, and
LiAngelo Ball LiAngelo Robert Ball (born November 24, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Ball played for Chino Hills High School in California, where he won a state championship and achieved nati ...
. Big Baller Brand has additionally been involved in the creation of the
Junior Basketball Association The Junior Basketball Association (JBA) was an American basketball league that intended to be an alternative to the NCAA by allowing high school and junior college players to immediately play professionally. The league was first announced in Dec ...
(JBA), which it fully funded, and both the
Big Baller Brand Challenge Games Big Baller Brand Challenge Games were a series of friendly basketball games between Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and five teams in the LKL, National Basketball League (NKL), and Regional Basketball ...
and
Big Baller Brand International Tournament The Big Baller Brand International Tournament was a round-robin basketball tournament hosted by Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) that featured three teams from different European countries. It began on Fe ...
, which were a series of Lithuanian exhibition games hosted by BC Vytautas (featuring LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball).


Origins and history

On April 14, 2016, Big Baller Brand announced that it would
soft launch A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it widely ...
by June 2016. Founded by
personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...
and former football player
LaVar Ball LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA ...
and Alan Foster, the company was built on "core family values", according to its website. Ball later said that he created Big Baller Brand, which was based in
Chino Hills, California Chino Hills (''Chino'', Spanish for "Curly") is a city located in the southwestern corner of San Bernardino County, California, United States. The city borders Los Angeles County on its northwest side, Orange County to its south and southwest ...
, for his three sons: Lonzo, LiAngelo, and
LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. ...
, who all played basketball at
Chino Hills High School Chino Hills High School, abbreviated CHHS, is located in Chino Hills, California, United States and is a public comprehensive high school serving a student body from three cities in the Chino Valley Unified School District. The school was establ ...
when it was established. He also stated that each of the three Bs on the company's logo stands for one of his sons. Upon its launch in June, Big Baller Brand initially sold
T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...
s,
shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...
, and sweatshirts through its online store. It partnered with a local design, printing, and shipping company, Garment Decor. In 2017, it also began working with sneaker company Brandblack for assistance in its shoe design. To maintain independence from Big Baller Brand, however, Brandblack created an offshoot creative agency Santa Ana Design for the partnership. Foster, a family friend of LaVar Ball, additionally become a manager and business associate of Big Baller Brand, helping design its signature shoes. On March 7, 2017, Big Baller Brand was registered with the
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...
, and its official slogan "Built for this" was trademarked on February 7, 2018 after being filed for in May 2017. In March 2019, it was reported that Lonzo Ball severed ties with Foster, after concerns of his criminal past and alleged misuse of $1.5 million of Ball's personal and business accounts. In April 2019, the Big Baller Brand website was shut down. When accessing the website, a notice that says "Thank you for visiting Big Baller Brand. Our website is under construction we will be back soon. Thank you." was shown. As of November 2019, the site's splash page directed visitors to click the BBB logo to go to a shopping page. Instead, guests who click were redirected to the official home page of Alan Foster. Big Baller Brand promised a separate web site in the near future. As of December 2020, a new version of the site appeared to be up and running.


Products


Sportswear

In May 2017, Big Baller Brand announced a November 2017 release of its first signature shoe, the ZO2 for
Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earn ...
. The base price of $495 garnered significant media attention. LaVar Ball responded on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
to critiques of the shoes' price: "If you can't afford the ZO2'S, you're NOT a BIG BALLER", for which he received further media criticism. In an interview with
Colin Cowherd Colin Murray Cowherd (born January 6, 1964) is an American sports media personality. Cowherd began his broadcasting career as sports director of Las Vegas television station KVBC and as a sports anchor on several other stations before joining ...
in May 2017, Ball said that if the big shoe companies like
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
, Adidas, or
Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European head ...
want to make a deal with his Big Baller Brand, the asking price is $3 billion. He also said that Baller has sold between 400 and 520 ZO2 shoes. In another interview, Ball described the shoes as "stitching and glue", stating that they were "not that big of a deal". On August 31, 2017, it announced the release of a signature shoe for
LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. ...
, called the Melo Ball 1 (MB1), which was scheduled to be available in late 2017. According to Big Baller Brand, the shoe will be exceptionally light upon a request by Ball himself. The MB1 is currently priced at $395. On December 4, 2017, Big Baller Brand revealed plans to create a signature shoe, known as the Gelo 3, for
LiAngelo Ball LiAngelo Robert Ball (born November 24, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Ball played for Chino Hills High School in California, where he won a state championship and achieved nati ...
after he left
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, following a shoplifting incident in China. Similar to the MB1, the Gelo 3 is also set at around $395. However, his shoes would later be renamed to the G3 Lux during his playing time in Lithuania. The company's founder,
LaVar Ball LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA ...
, also announced he would have signature shoes of not just his own, but a brand for his wife as well. LaVar's shoes are considered to be named "LaVariccis", while Tina Ball's signature shoes would be named "The Comeback", which was inspired by her recovery from a stroke she had in 2017. On October 17, 2018, Big Baller Brand released a cheaper version of Lonzo's shoe, the ZO2.19, priced at $200.


Other products

After LiAngelo and
LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. ...
signed their first professional contracts with Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas of the
Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
(LKL), Big Baller Brand saw an increased presence in Lithuania in 2018. On February 9, 2018, Big Baller Brand announced its partnership with the Lithuanian
bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to lar ...
company
Birštonas Birštonas () is a balneological resort and a spa town in Lithuania situated south of Kaunas on the right bank of the Nemunas River. Birštonas received its city rights 1529, and was appointed a city in 1966. The city is the administrative c ...
Mineral Water, a sponsor of Vytautas. LaVar Ball stated that Big Baller Brand would import water from Lithuania to the United States with a price similar to
Perrier Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of natural bottled water, bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle. Perrier w ...
and
S.Pellegrino S.Pellegrino is an Italy, Italian natural mineral water brand, owned by the company Sanpellegrino Società per azioni, S.p.A, part of Switzerland, Swiss company Nestlé since 1997. The principal production plant is located in San Pellegrino Terme ...
products.


Sponsorships

On December 20, 2017,
LaVar Ball LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA ...
announced the creation of the
Junior Basketball Association The Junior Basketball Association (JBA) was an American basketball league that intended to be an alternative to the NCAA by allowing high school and junior college players to immediately play professionally. The league was first announced in Dec ...
(JBA), a professional league completely funded by Big Baller Brand that is designed as an alternative to
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
for high school graduates. The league, which launched in the summer of 2018, was expected to pay players $3,000 to $10,000 per month and include teams from several major American cities. According to Ball, players will be required to exclusively wear Big Baller Brand products, with uniforms, shoes, and other apparel provided by the company. On May 4, 2018, LaVar's youngest son,
LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. ...
, was confirmed to be one of the players entering the upstart league, while also being touted as the face of the league by his father. On January 5, 2018, Vytautas, the first professional team of LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball, announced that it would withdraw from the
Baltic Basketball League Baltic Basketball League (BBL) was the Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004. The league mainly focused on teams from the Baltic states, but teams from Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and Belarus have participated in the Baltic L ...
(BBL) and in its place host five exhibition games to showcase the Ball brothers, called the
Big Baller Brand Challenge Games Big Baller Brand Challenge Games were a series of friendly basketball games between Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and five teams in the LKL, National Basketball League (NKL), and Regional Basketball ...
. The games, which took place from January 9 to 29 and were live streamed through
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
, featured widespread advertisement of Big Baller Brand, with
Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...
commenting that the company was "the real star of the show". Shortly after the Ball brothers began playing professionally, LaVar Ball heavily invested in Vytautas, helping it pay off its debts and allowing Big Baller Brand to become the team's main sponsor as a result. The team was also involved with the
Big Baller Brand International Tournament The Big Baller Brand International Tournament was a round-robin basketball tournament hosted by Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) that featured three teams from different European countries. It began on Fe ...
and a few other exhibition games involving the
Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...
's
Guangdong Southern Tigers Guangdong Hongyuan Southern Tigers () or Guangdong Southern Tigers, also known as Guangdong Dongguan Bank () for sponsorship reasons, are a Chinese professional basketball team owned by the Guangdong Winnerway (Hongyuan) Group. The team is one o ...
and the
British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...
's London Lions during the 2017–18 season, with the Big Baller Brand's founder coaching the team during those events. On February 15, 2018, Lonzo Ball released his debut rap album, Born 2 Ball, under the Big Baller Music Group. The label was a subsidiary of the Big Baller Brand and would be run by a close friend of LaVar's. In April 2018, after previously wearing the ZO2 shoes during a game,
Jordan Crawford Jordan Lee Crawford (born October 23, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Manama Club of the Bahraini Premier League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers and the Xavier Musketeers. His brother is Joe Crawfor ...
was the first professional basketball player not related to the Ball family to look into having a partnership with the company. Crawford also gave the company words of approval for what they are doing. A month later, rapper
Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), known professionally as Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He is best known as the co-founder and former frontman of hip hop group Migos. Quavo is the uncle of late fellow Migos m ...
of Migos fame was seen promoting Lonzo Ball's Big Baller Brand merchandise on Instagram, with later reports suggesting that Quavo would be an ambassador of the Big Baller Brand.


Customer service

In January 2018, Big Baller Brand was given an F grade by the
Better Business Bureau Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization founded in 1912. BBB's self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust, consisting of 97 independently incorporated local BBB organizations in the Unite ...
, which said that Big Baller Brand "has a pattern of complaints", specifically that many customers have had to wait "weeks or even months to receive their order". Some customers alleged that they have received the wrong merchandise or even nothing at all, and that it had been difficult to contact the company. In May 2018,
All-Star baseball ''All-Star Baseball'' is a series of baseball video games that was developed and published by Acclaim Entertainment. The series began in 1997 with the release of '' All-Star Baseball '97 Featuring Frank Thomas'', the successor to ''Frank Thomas B ...
player Adam Jones complained on social media that he just received his ZO2 Prime Remix shoes after ordering them a year earlier. A year later, Blair Looney of the Better Business Bureau stated that the Big Baller Brand still had an F grade and that "we are continuing to work with them on straightening things out."


References


External links


Official website
{{Lonzo Ball 2016 establishments in the United States Sportswear brands American companies established in 2016