Could Lonzo Ball's injury history be caused by his signature shoes early in his career?

The infamous BBB shoes may be to blame.

© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Lonzo Ball's career now hangs in the balance following an injury in January of 2022 and a third knee surgery since joining the Chicago Bulls. Reports are even swirling that Bulls' officials privately believe that the former UCLA star will not be able to return to an NBA floor due to the damage caused to his knees.

Knee injuries are common in the NBA, given the amount of pressure and torque players put their joints through in the pursuit of greatness and excellence. They're also well-equipped to handle the rigors of NBA competition with appropriate gear available at a moment's notice. Ball, though, may not have had the right shoes on at the start of his career as he admitted how bad his BBB signature shoes were back then.

Not ready

In an interview in 2019, Ball—who was then playing for the New Orleans Pelicans—admitted that the Big Baller Brand signature shoes he had were just not ready for the NBA.

"Them ZO2s I was playing in, they was not ready," Ball shared on a talk on Josh Hart's podcast.

As a matter of fact, Ball revealed that his manager, Darren Moore, had several extra pairs ready every time Lonzo played.

"No one knows this, but D-Mo had a backpack, and he had like an extra four pairs of shoes in there, because I had to switch them every quarter because they would just rip. I'm like, 'Yo, I'm not playing in them shoes.' Like, 'I don't care bro,'" Ball added.

Had to wear them

Ball played in just 99 games during his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers due to numerous injuries. The Lakers got so concerned with Ball's injury history early in his career that team officials even asked if the BBB ZO2s Lonzo was wearing had anything to do with his health. At the time, Lonzo denied the allegations, but privately he knew what was up.

"Because they're my shoes. I had to debut them. We went so far with it. I'm like, 'Cool, I can get a quarter in. But that's it. We've got to switch them every quarter.' And nobody noticed. And by the end of that quarter, they were beat up," said Ball.