Major news broke just before the weekend that Lonzo Ball was parting ways with his family’s Big Baller Brand business over a dispute of a missing $1.5 million and advice that fell flat, such as not signing a sneaker deal with Nike or Adidas.
But although Lonzo has been dropping not-so subtle hints about wanting to join his teammate LeBron James on Nike Basketball, James avoided brand chatter when he was asked about the major news Ball made. According to James, beyond the brand implications, he saw a kid turning into a man.
From Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times
“I love the fact that he’s taking control of his [stuff],” James said. “I mean, he’s, that’s what’s really, really dope to me. Once I saw that story I just seen a kid turning into a man. ‘This is my career and I’m taking this. I done had enough with — whatever. I done had enough. Whatever. If I’m not going to be successful, I’m not going to be successful on my terms.’ I saw a lot of that. We’ll see.”
James, while he has been with Nike longer than any other NBA team, has long been a proponent of players finding their own path to success, one that they can control rather than being at the whims of potentially shady business partners. And less than two seasons into his NBA career, Lonzo has already dealt with that from the people closest to him.
That Lonzo is setting the boundaries in his professional life, no matter what comes next, is something to be proud of.
