The business owned by the father of Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball — professional blow-hard LaVar Ball — has received an “F” on the Better Business Bureau website. And the negative reviews keep rolling in from dissatisfied customers of Big Baller Brand.
LaVar Ball was foisted on the public consciousness last year during his eldest son’s one and only season playing basketball for UCLA. A first-team All-American, Lonzo Ball was the selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second pick during last year’s NBA draft. A legitimate NBA point guard (albeit with some glaring deficiencies), Lonzo is at risk of having his basketball career scuttled by his father, who cannot seem to stop reminding the world that his perspective on his sons and basketball is laughable. Before fully torpedoing Lonzo’s NBA career, LaVar Ball is probably going to run his own business into the ground.
The guy who averaged just over two points a game in a very forgettable college career at Washington State and who claims that he could beat Michael Jordan at their respective peaks began taking orders for shoes priced at $495 last summer. Counting on the rising fame of his son, whom LaVar believes is better than Steph Curry, Ball touts his company, Big Baller Brand, as the next big thing in sports apparel. His customers, however, disagree.
Two days ago, a customer named Christine F. left a comment about her experience with Big Baller Brand on the BBB website. “Ordered a t-shirt for my teen son for Christmas on Dec 4, 2017. Have not received any information on ship date or tracking to date,” Christine wrote. “After a couple email inquiries I received a response that basically put blame on the carriers because of the busy holiday season. That is 100% inaccurate as I did about 75% of my shopping online and Everything else came in on time, even items I ordered the week before Christmas. I inquired again and they replied with a copy of a notice that said label created Dec 27th, awaiting pickup. But with no tracking number. Why are they still taking orders? After the news reports today about them not paying their suppliers, it sounds like we will never see our shirt. At this point my son doesn’t want it any longer. How awful to steal from your (use to be) fans! Very shady business! Do Not buy from them!”
As of the writing of this article, Big Baller Brand has received 61 negative reviews and 50 positive reviews. The majority of the negative reviews echo the themes of missing merchandise and shoddy product quality. The majority of the positive reviews are short, read a little like ad copy, and appear to have been posted in the last few days. The timing of the positive reviews is suspicious since reports of LaVar Ball’s company’s failure to pay suppliers recently surfaced, which also uncovered the poor BBB rating. It’s almost as if an intern (or maybe LaVar himself) is busy creating fake BBB profiles in order to counter the negative reviews.
The hubris of LaVar Ball has almost reached legendary status. The absurdity of his claims and predictions as well as the quickness with which he makes bold promises is only going to ensure that LaVar Ball’s inevitable fall will be dramatic. Future documentary producers will be thankful for LaVar Ball’s coming implosion. Let’s hope that he doesn’t drag his sons down with him and Big Baller Brand.
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