5 NBA Approved Generic Shoes Cheaper Than Big Baller Brand ZO2

Lavar Ball only wants what is best for his family, I get that. It's great to see that he cares so much. But, he's fucking up the money, there's no nice way to say it, so I said it bluntly. The average NBA shoe deal runs for around 1.5 million dollars a year, but he wanted a billion dollars for Lonzo and a company to licence the Big Baller Brand. The man got laughed out of the meetings and decided he'd drop the official Big Baller Brand shoe, the ZO2. Kobe Bryant will probably sue because these are clearly knock offs of his shoe. But, that's okay, lots of NBA players have sold generic shoes. What made it all so laughable is that they're selling for $495.00 each, after taxes and shipping and handling you're paying over $500 for a generic version of a Kobe Bryant shoe that you can purchase for less than $100. If you wanted some really cheap NBA approved generic shoes, I sat down and made a list, because I like lists. Just for the record, if you buy the ZO2 for $500 you probably bought tickets to JaRule's music festival. You don't deserve the right to manage your own money.

1. Hakeem Olajuwon - $34.99

Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon was one of the first NBA players to speak out about how devastating that people, including children were killing each other over expensive shoes. Especially in the black community. His remedy was to create his own shoe. Hakeem's shoe sold at places like K-Mart and Sears. He only sold them for $34.99 almost 1/3 of what Michael Jordan's shoes were going for at the time. Sadly they didn't sell very well. The problem wasn't really that they were generic or at K-Mart. It's because Hakeem was trying to sell them to kids. Hakeem is a good guy but his agent Ralph Green was quoted saying Hakeem was "mature, a professional – no rap, earrings or tattoos – qualities that don’t always translate if you’re targeting youth." The important thing is that he tried to stop the violence and set an example so that other's would try as well.

2. Stephon Marbury - $14.98

Following in the steps of Hakeem, came Stehon Marbury. His shoes were sold via Steve and Barry's which has since closed and filed bankruptcy. The problem with his shoes is, they weren't exactly made of the best quality material and you'd be slipping and falling all over the court. Then his NBA career kind of came crashing down in 2006 and the shoes vanished from the market. But, that's okay because they made an impressive return due to connections he made playing basketball and China and now there's more styles than ever available on his website. I just hope the quality has improved.

3. Ben Wallace - $15.00 

Also following in Hakeem's footsteps came Ben Wallace who also sold shoes at K-Mart and Walmart. Ben played in Detroit for six seasons so he's no stranger to the violence that the city can see. I mean, the fans in Detroit can be so rowdy, remember when they launched a heinous assault on the Pacers players? Ben felt inspired to release his show for the low price in hopes that more people would buy them. For as good as Ben was at being a defensive player he never really lit up the highlight reels. The shoes didn't sell exceptionally well and ended their career before he ended his. Here's a little fun fact about the shoe. The deal was provided to Ben via Stephon Marbury. That's right, Stephon was out here trying to change the game and give shoe deals to other NBA players.

4. Al Harrington -  $24.99

Here's something funny, I actually own a pair of his Protege shoes. Let me explain, I had just started a new hotel job and the uniform required all black shoes. I didn't have any all black shoes except dress shoes. But, I was in K-Mart when the phone call came that I had gotten hired, and they wanted me to start the next day. I happened to look to the left and boom, there they were, an all black pair of sneakers in a sea of neon colors. I said, this will work and went on my way. Al wanted me to have that job. Al's shoes sold for $35.00 retail but were often on sale. Al has a consistent career and has always been a good player. His shoes don't exactly sell well, but they're still selling in multiple styles. He didn't revolutionize the basketball shoe game, but he did change the work shoe game forever. The shoes are consistent like him. Those things are durable too, wore them 5 days a week in a labor intensive job for four years and cut grass in them for another 3, I just had these on two weeks ago cutting grass, I didn't even know they were his signature shoe until I researched this. He doesn't promote this at all. Promote these, I've had them for 7 years now and they're in great shape. Older gentlemen will tell you a good pair of work boots will last forever, same goes for a pair of Proteges.

5. Shaq - $11.98 - $40.00 - $66.75

Shaq is the reason I wrote this list. I was on twitter and he told Lavar Ball that real big ballers don't exploit the people with crazy shoe prices. Had Lonzo talking about culture in the promo video while trying to sell $500 shoes. Shaq didn't start with the super cheap shoes, but his were always comparatively cheap. He started with a Reebok shoe deal that sold for $66.75 during his time with the Orlando Magic. During his time in LA he dropped that and started his Dunkman brand shoes to sell to people at an even lower price because people were still getting robbed for the Shaq shoes. These were around $40 dollars and sold at places like Payless. I also had a pair of these as a kid because my dad said "these are just as good as Jordans" I mean, it worked if I positioned my pants to cover the Dunkman logo, nobody questioned it because they had plenty of shoes that were just knockoff versions of Jordans, Nikes or other shoe brands. I think I saw some K-Swiss in there too. After retirement Shaq took that price even lower. Now you can head to a Walmart or Target and get a pair starting at $11.98 for kids. It's worked because he's sold over 1.5 million pairs of the Dunkman brand. He's also the only athlete who sales shoes to call out the ridiculousness of $500 generic shoes that do not allow you to walk on water.

You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet. You can also check out his playthrough of Sleeping Dogs or Skyrim

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