The Chicago Bulls welcomed back Lonzo Ball this season after an absurd 1,006-day absence. This timeline would be more understandable if multiple or compound injuries occurred. Still, for the meniscus tear that he suffered, the average recovery time is six to nine months. Jimmy Butler, Zion Williamson, and Derrick Rose are a few examples of fellow NBA players who suffered the same injury but returned to play within one calendar year. What went wrong in Ball’s case, and how did he compile several lower leg injuries in four years without any improvement?

Big Baller Brand Was To Blame

According to Ball, his injuries did not stack until he switched to his father’s shoe company and family brand, the Big Baller Brand. Seeking exposure and popularity from the rising stars in his household, LaVar Ball suited up each of his sons in the new shoe, which lacked the extensive field-testing and historical proof of concept of the mainstream Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, or Puma brands. Nonetheless, the sons repped their family brand, and several injuries followed. The two remaining NBA brothers have since pivoted shoe brands, LaMelo belonging to Puma and Lonzo with Nike.

After legal issues and potential fraud from co-owner Alan Foster, the Ball family severed ties with their former partner and effectively shut down the brand. It has since been relaunched, but without any professional athletes partnered and a questionable historical record as evidenced by their eldest son’s injury track record, it’ll likely remain a small token in the sports merchandise business.

Lonzo’s Injury Timing Lines Up With BBB Shoes

The former UCLA Bruin guard told reporters that his injuries didn’t begin until switching to his family’s shoes. Once he suited up in the “kickball shoes,” as he referred to them, his first meniscus injury happened less than a year later in 2018 as a rookie. He suffered six lower leg injuries in the next calendar year, 11 in the next three, and missed 46% of his career games before this season. His 17 missed games this year have been due to a wrist injury and don’t contribute to the theory that the BBB shoes played a significant part in his extensive injury history.

These serious allegations against his father’s company seem to pass the eye test. His injuries before or after the BBB shoe line aren’t nearly the same quantity or severity as they were during the span he wore them.

Is LaVar Ball and the BBB shoes to blame for Lonzo’s permanently altered career and health? He’ll never return to the springy and effortlessly athletic version out of college, but the 1,000-day-long recovery is miraculous and unheard of for the Chicago Bulls guard.