Empoword

Part Three: Research and Argumentation 408 “potential worth to [Under Armour] is placed at more than a staggering $14 billion” and business experts “peg total sneaker sales somewhere north of $20 billion annually, and rising” (Strauss). Unsaid but assumed up until now, much of the Balls’ potential as transcendent difference-makers depends upon at least one of the Ball brothers (Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo) being exceptional at the game that allowed them to get here. They are using what LeBron has been doing for nearly 15 years and refining the blueprint, but LeBron has a leg up as one of the few unequalled players in the game’s history. So, let us hypothetically assume the worst—that the Balls all bust or wear upon the public’s nerves to the point of no return: the fact that they have gotten this far is nevertheless remarkable. This phenomenon has not occurred in a vacuum. Even if they end up being nothing more than a small blip in Nike’s, adidas’s, and Under Armour’s smooth-sailing Titanics, they matter. They have presented those who follow a longer runway to launch from than was there previously—a runway that does not rely on these major corporations’ backing. When recalling his time playing at Chino Hills High School, Lonzo reflected, “I felt like I helped change the culture over there” (Calle). Now, before he has had his name called at the NBA Draft, he and Big Baller Brand are changing have already changed the culture on an even larger scale. Works Cited Calle, Franklyn. “Ball Is Life.” SLAMonline , 4 Aug. 2016, www.slamonline.com/blogs/on- the-come-up/ball-bros/#y4Hp1E4EKHUGZHLE.97. DePaula, Nick. “Inside the Sneaker Industry: How NBA Shoe Deals Work.” Yahoo! Sports , Yahoo!, 29 Jan. 2016, http://sports.yahoo.com/news/inside-the-sneaker- industry--how-nba-shoe-deals-work-032155839.html. Foltin, Lindsey. “How LaVar Ball Cost Lonzo a Shoe Deal with Nike, Adidas and Others.” FOX Sports , 30 Apr. 2017, www.foxsports.com/college- basketball/story/lavar-ball-lonzo-ball-cost-shoe-deal-endorsement-nike-adidas- under-armour-nba-draft-043017. Le Batard, Dan and John Weiner. “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz: Hour 1: LaVar Ball.” ESPN Radio , 5 May 2017,