Quote :

"I doubt these shoes are in any way better than a $100 pair of shoes. "

of course not but that's not really the point. it's not about them being extremely durable, comfortable, cutting edge, etc. call it a status symbol if you want. getting the newest iphone every time it comes out is a status symbol too.

Quote :

"So I also find it ridiculous that someone would pay this much for a pair of shoes"

that's fine, the shoes aren't for you. they aren't marketing to you. so voicing that opinion really means very little.

Quote :

"and think it says something about their character (generally speaking of course)... that they're a pompous narcissist"

that's ridiculous stereotype that is completely unfounded.

[Edited on May 5, 2017 at 4:45 PM. Reason : fucked up the quote my b]

5/5/2017 4:44:58 PM

Quote :

"I think the cell phone comparison is terrible. The difference between a $50 shoe and a $500 shoe is fashion and brand recognition, not actual technology. For the record, I've paid > $400 for shoes before. But they're baller ass handcrafted cowboy boots that are comfortable as hell. I wouldn't pay that much for sneakers that I can't even buy in the correct width for my feet."

as far as technology goes, you're right...a flip phone ain't doing what an iphone is doing. i didn't spell out what i meant...but i was getting at the point that this is all, to a degree, a status symbol. getting the newest phone when it comes out instead of, say, the previous iteration of iphone, is mostly a status symbol. yeah there's some features and shit...that are new and improved. but it's like 90%+ the same damn device.

and again, saying "i wouldn't pay that much for a pair that doesn't even fit" is fine....nobody's making you buy the shoe. but y'all need to understand the shoes aren't made and marketed to/for you. there's a demographic that does want expensive sneakers and will pay for them. and they aren't all rich and they aren't all idiots or whatever insult you wanna throw their way.

this just all strikes me as "i don't like or understand this, therefore it's bad and wrong" which generally annoys me.

[Edited on May 5, 2017 at 4:52 PM. Reason : d]

5/5/2017 4:51:28 PM

judging someone as a pompous narcissist over the shoes that they buy/wear is ridiculous

most people have things that they love and are willing to spend more money on

5/5/2017 5:13:47 PM

status symbols are for insecure people trying to compensate, or for kids that are duped into thinking they need to spend lots of money to be cool or good at basketball (yes, this is a gross over-generalization, and an opinion) but it's their right to blow their money and make corporations richer. Is child labor involved?

[Edited on May 5, 2017 at 5:28 PM. Reason : ]

5/5/2017 5:26:22 PM

I'm going to assume that you shop only at thrift stores and never buy anything that makes you happy

because holy fuck

5/5/2017 5:39:52 PM

Quote :

"status symbols are for insecure people trying to compensate"

but the problem with that kind of thinking is that almost EVERYTHING is a status symbol of some kind if you perceive it that way. high end suit, nice car, expensive shoes, bigger tv, whatever. it's just that we all tend to understand the desire to have a nice car, newest phone, bigger tv, etc. we (mostly white dudes in 30s-40s) don't understand the shoe thing. most of us here don't relate to it or have interest in it.

you're attaching too much of a negative connotation to "status symbol". it's just signalling. you're wearing something, in part, to convey a message about yourself to the outside world. the message doesn't have to be "i am rich" or something negative. or maybe you just like the shoes so you bought them.

[Edited on May 5, 2017 at 5:59 PM. Reason : f]

5/5/2017 5:58:26 PM

5/7/2017 6:33:21 PM

Who is this Lavar guy? Is he a sport Icon that I've never heard? From what I am getting he's pimping his kids more or less.

Reason. CNN be having "Breaking News" on him b/c on his son UCLA team or w/e.

[Edited on December 5, 2017 at 11:37 AM. Reason : balling]

12/5/2017 11:35:48 AM

This is him

12/5/2017 11:47:14 AM

No that's 50 and Steve Harvey.

[Edited on December 5, 2017 at 12:13 PM. Reason : .]

12/5/2017 12:13:16 PM

both balls sign agent, will find a team in europe where they can play together and both start. lavar says they will develop best for the nba by playing together and he will send people to meet with european squads to find the best fit. he doesnt care how much money they make.

i think liangelo was always part of a package deal and wonder if he is actually good.

12/7/2017 6:59:39 PM

They should go play in China.

12/7/2017 8:33:26 PM

Looks like Dad coached them all in AAU. Wonder if this team in Lithuania will have a lot of Ball-inspired coaching influence.

If there was a team that went down the abyss to hire some pop celebrity for a coach to satisfy a couple players, it'd be the Lakers right?

12/13/2017 1:12:43 PM

no, because they’re one of the two greatest franchises in NBA history, and you don’t get to that threshold by making celebrity hires

12/13/2017 1:21:43 PM

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21978438/lithuanian-team-prienu-vytautas-schedule-big-baller-brand-challenge-games

1/6/2018 2:15:13 PM

lol wtf is this real life?

1/6/2018 8:11:30 PM

This is why they signed with an almost broke pro team. They get to put their name on shit and generate publicity and the team gets to make enough money to pay its bills for a few months. The big baller challenge is basically games against Lithuanian high schoolers.

1/6/2018 8:24:22 PM

Adidas is a soccer brand.

Think about this? What if we were the exclusive test school for a new brand? Think of all the attention and recruits looking to stand out we'd get.

Big Baller Brand is going to be blowing up soon, we need to be the first and only.

1/7/2018 11:05:10 AM

bttt

hahaha

what a fucking douche bag

has anyone flushed money down the toilet for nothing in return ordered gear from big baller brand?

4/26/2018 8:58:08 PM

lolno

4/26/2018 9:09:09 PM

ok Stinger i'll post the actual news

https://deadspin.com/ball-brothers-short-bizarre-lithuanian-experiment-come-1825565179

4/26/2018 11:26:01 PM

Let's catch up with the Ball brothers

1. Lonzo: the oldest ball brother might not play in the NBA ever again due to repeated injuries. Supposedly some of the injuries are a result of wearing the Big Baller Brand shoes, which didn't have nearly the research and development that a Nike, Adidas, etc puts in their shoes

2. LiAngelo: the middle child is currently on the Greensboro Swarm G-League team. He is a good 3-point shooter, but that's about it. He isn't very athletic, he isn't a great defender, he seems destined to be a career G-League / overseas player and likely won't ever see more than garbage time minutes in the NBA

3. LaMelo: the youngest Ball brother is the best one, winning rookie of the year and making an All Star team, albeit as a replacement due to another player's injury. But speaking of injury, he's had multiple ankle injuries over this 3 seasons in the league, playing in 51/72 games as a rookie, 75/82 as a sophomore, and only 36/82 games in his 3rd season. He'll likely get a rookie max extension from Charlotte after next season, though if he has trouble staying healthy again next season, the Hornets would be in a tough spot over what to do with him.

Only one of them went to college and he definitely didn't redefine college basketball. If anything, LaMelo's post-high school play in Lithuania and Australia, rather than college, is a more noteworthy trend for what elite prospects do coming out of high school if they don't want to go to college (overseas, G League, Overtime Elite).

6/12/2023 9:01:32 PM

I question how much the shoes actually affected lonzo's injuries. IIRC he didn't even wear them very much because they were falling apart after like a quarter of playing in them. Like he started wearing Nikes as a rookie and summer league and mostly wore Nikes for his entire career.

6/13/2023 2:12:03 AM

2 of 3 kids being high level nba players and the 3rd being just on the outside is still pretty good.

6/13/2023 7:38:15 AM

So the original post from face was that they could redefine CBB. They obviously did not do that. But as far as being successful professional basketball players…yeah I mean it’s hard to argue that they haven’t been successful pros.

To the question of hype or substance…I’d say the substance was there. But there was plenty of hype also. I guess the hype was justified but their dad is still a wacko

[Edited on June 13, 2023 at 12:23 PM. Reason : D]

6/13/2023 12:22:15 PM

I don’t think wrestling heels are wackos

[Edited on June 13, 2023 at 12:53 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2023 12:50:36 PM

Quote :

"2 of 3 kids being high level nba players"

I wouldn't call Lonzo a high level NBA player though. He's a role player and definitely a disappointment for being the #2 overall pick. Somebody you pick that high you expect to become an all-star and even without injuries Lonzo was never going to be that good.

6/13/2023 1:27:38 PM

He's not a star but he consistently starts.

450 nba players, 150 starters give or take. You could say good teams have players that would start on bad but I think at minimum lonzo is top 50% and probably more like top 30%.

6/13/2023 1:55:58 PM

Like i said, i think he is a disappointment as a former #2 overall pick. He's fine for what he is, but he's not a top end PG in the league. He's a bottom end starter at that position IMO which is fine and still incredibly impressive in the overall scheme of basketball playing humans. Like he's easily in the bottom half of starting PGs in the NBA today. No question.

6/13/2023 1:59:49 PM

I think it’s fair to call him a disappointment based on his draft position.

6/13/2023 2:26:49 PM

I think it’s a bit too high of an ask to expect a #2 pick to become an all-star

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/every-nba-number-2-overall-pick-ever

of course there are some all-stars listed, but the hit rate is insanely low over the past 25 years

[Edited on June 13, 2023 at 2:28 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2023 2:28:16 PM

Ok fine, but i still don't consider a guy who is a low end starter at his position to be a "high level NBA player". Like what is high level about having 20+ guys better than you at your position?

6/13/2023 2:57:43 PM

Fair enough, two guys just consistently in the NBA is pretty good.

6/13/2023 4:59:05 PM

Lonzo was ascending before his legs gave out, too

6/13/2023 5:05:24 PM

Ascending into the 20s of the best PG rankings!

But yes, having 3 sons all being professional basketball players, including a bonafide star in lamelo and a solid nba player in lonzo is very impressive

6/13/2023 6:20:18 PM

you seem to be set on 20

care to list the 20 PG’s you’d list ahead of him before his knees went out?

6/13/2023 6:30:16 PM

Sure. Curry, Paul, Harden, Lillard, Doncic, Irving, Westbrook, Young, Morant, J. Holliday, Fox, Smart, McCollum, Haliburton, Brunson, Cunningham, Russell, J. Murray, VanVleet, Garland, and LaMelo Ball.

Maybe Porter and Giddey.

[Edited on June 13, 2023 at 8:16 PM. Reason : But other than those guys, lonzo is elite]

6/13/2023 8:16:16 PM

that’s a pretty hilarious list

6/13/2023 8:58:22 PM

Yeah i agree curry sucks. I would definitely take Lonzo over him.

6/13/2023 9:13:57 PM

lot of two guards on that list

hell, Lebron is more of a PG than a bunch of dudes on there

[Edited on June 13, 2023 at 9:34 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2023 9:26:00 PM

Lonzo is a better defender than a lot of them but he's basically a 3 and D guy and that's his ceiling

6/13/2023 9:38:48 PM

Quote :

"lot of two guards on that list"

Nope. A bunch of primary ballhandlers on that list.

I will grant you Cunningham, who didn't play as a PG as a rookie but almost exclusively played that way before injury this year. But every other player on that list is a point guard.

6/13/2023 9:56:09 PM

Steph Curry is not their primary ball handler

he’s much more of a 2 than 1, like a lot of dudes on your list

lol at having multiple teammates on your list

[Edited on June 13, 2023 at 10:14 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2023 10:03:49 PM

Sure ok whatever you say.

You do realize McCollum hasn't played with Lillard in a year and a half and since then has been the primary ballhandler for the pelicans?

Also Steph Curry is absolutely a point guard. I mean unless it's not cool to be a point guard now so you're just pulling a Tim Duncan and calling him a shooting guard when he does everything a point guard does.

6/13/2023 10:13:54 PM

of course. just found it funny you listed both of them/other dudes who currently play on the same team

you listed a bunch of dudes who handle the hall, but that doesn’t mean they’re a traditional point guard like Lonzo Ball

there’s a difference between primary ball handlers and point guards

just now seeing you listed D’Angelo Russell. my god.

[Edited on June 13, 2023 at 10:32 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2023 10:22:52 PM