Lonzo Ball believes the Huge Baller Model footwear he wore as a rookie may have contributed to the primary meniscus damage he suffered in July 2018. Ball mentioned the footwear had been like “kickball footwear.”
“I believe it is a risk for positive, to be trustworthy with you,” Ball mentioned. “I wasn’t actually getting damage like that till I began carrying them.”
Ball selected the surgical procedure with the quickest restoration time in an effort to attempt to assist the Los Angeles Lakers make a playoff run. By the point he was cleared after 15 video games missed, the Lakers had been eight video games again of eighth place.
“I used to be an Adidas child since highschool, so I used to be considering that was going to be the route,” Ball mentioned. “However what was advised to me, I suppose, wasn’t what actually occurred. I used to be advised that no person wished to companion with me, so my dad was like, ‘Simply rock the model.’ And I used to be like, ‘All proper.'”
Ball mentioned he wonders whether or not there have been already cartilage points deep inside his knee earlier than he even reached the NBA. Ball spent years taking part in on concrete and working springs in Chino Hills State Park.
“My uncle used to at all times inform me, ‘Y’all play an excessive amount of exterior,’ as a result of we had been taking part in tremendous onerous within the yard. That is on concrete,” Ball mentioned. “That was at the least 15 years. So I imply, all that, over time, it might’t be good to your knees.”