National Basketball Association

Lonzo Ball reveals how long it took to design his $495 signature shoe

Published Jun. 5, 2017 2:59 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

Lonzo Ball hasn’t made it to the NBA just yet, but he’s already become one of the most discussed players in basketball this year. A large part of that is because of his stellar play at UCLA, but it’s also due to the fact that he has an outspoken father and the most expensive signature shoe around.

Lonzo and LaVar unveiled the ZO2 last month with a crazy price tag of $495, generating a great deal of criticism for Big Baller Brand. LaVar Ball has attempted to explain the reasoning behind the shocking cost, but Lonzo has said very little about it.

The entire family appeared on the latest episode of Sneaker Shopping from Complex, and in it, Lonzo discusses the inspiration behind the ZO2 and how long it took him to design it. He was even asked if it’s fair to say that the design was influenced by the Adidas Ultraboost sole and Kobe’s signature shoe.

“Yeah that’s fair,” Lonzo said. “I just figured, I got what I thought would be a nice shoe and the way it came out, I was happy with it. So we released it, and I’m happy with the whole thing.”

It didn’t take long for sneakerheads – and even casual shoe fans, for that matter – to realize the similarities between the ZO2, the Ultraboost and the Kobe 11. The resemblances in style are impossible to ignore, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

As for coming up with the final design, it didn’t take Lonzo very long.

“Designing it didn’t take too long,” he said. “Took about three, four hours. I was with my man D-Mo, and then when they went to production with it they told me it would be finished and they got it done.”

So while it’s easy to criticize Lonzo for using aspects of other wildly popular shoes, we do have to remember one thing: He’s only 19 years old. The fact that he even had the chance to design a signature shoe – and that it didn’t turn out like the Curry 2 Chefs – is a major victory in its own right.

So while they may be expensive (really expensive), it’s just the beginning for Lonzo Ball in the sneaker industry.