{"id":777961,"date":"2018-06-27T09:07:58","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T13:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=777961"},"modified":"2022-09-21T21:59:43","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T02:59:43","slug":"liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/","title":{"rendered":"LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sixty names were called during last week\u2019s NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball<\/strong> wasn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

From his time over in Lithuania, playing for Vytautas Prienu and from when he made the decision to declare for the draft in March, he knew his journey to realize his dreams would be unconventional, if not more arduous.<\/p>\n

No stranger to hard work and training, his experience from his time overseas only helped place things in perspective on how serious the game should be taken to be able to play at a professional level.<\/p>\n

We spoke with Gelo on behalf of Foot Locker\u2019s \u201cOne and Done\u201d NBA Draft campaign to discuss his preparation for the draft, his post-draft options and the freedom that comes with being part of the Big Baller Brand.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: What has the draft process been like for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> Going into the draft process, I have just been working a lot harder and getting prepared for NBA-level play. I\u2019ve been running hills to get my endurance up, focusing on getting stronger with my workouts. It\u2019s a lot more of working on my attack moves: attack pullups, pulling up from the midrange, attacking the baskets from the post and just more NBA-level moves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: What did you take away from the experience over in Lithuania?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> I just saw that I have to go into the game with a high level of focus and be ready to go my hardest every time I step on the floor because it\u2019s no joke over there. If you\u2019re messing around, they can fire you. That\u2019s the biggest thing I learned and I brought that mentality back here.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: Now looking back at the road you\u2019ve taken to get here, how would you assess your journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> I had to take a different path here but I feel like it hasn\u2019t hurt me. I made a mistake, learned from it and I didn\u2019t stop right there. I just wanted to keep moving forward because I had more plans in my head. So I just had to take a different route but I know I\u2019m still going to get a chance to play in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: You\u2019re the only player in the draft class to have your own signature shoe. What has it been like to be part of the movement you and your family have created?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> It\u2019s been a great experience to be a part of the process because not every kid will get their own shoe, especially before they even enter the league. That\u2019s just something that comes from having your own brand. If you build your own brand good enough, you can have your own shoe. If you produce people are going to buy that shoe. It\u2019s just cool being able to create your own shoe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: Do you and your brothers work collectively when working on your signature models?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> It\u2019s pretty individual. We make our shoes to fit our styles of play. Zo plays fast, so he made his shoe low and super light; he wanted one of the lightest shoes out. Melo likes that swaggy look to his shoe, so he went that route with all the crazy colors. It\u2019s pretty much whatever we want and what we\u2019re feeling, that\u2019s what we\u2019re adding to the shoe.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: As far as branding and marketing yourself, did you pick up anything of that nature when you were in Lithuania?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> My focus was on basketball, but at the same time, I pick up on things as far as off the court. I know a lot of people are looking at your character and you have to carry yourself as almost an idol, kind of. That only helps more people like you and that\u2019s only going to help you build your brand. I definitely picked up on that with the experience.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: Why did you choose to wear Hyperdunks in your workout with the Lakers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> That was because my shoe is still in the prototype phase right now. I don\u2019t have my main one just yet because we\u2019re still working on it. That\u2019s just what I was comfortable with and since I\u2019m not signed to no contract or anything, I can wear what I want. I could have worn adidas if I wanted to. It was just what I was comfortable with.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a good feeling because if you\u2019re signed to Nike, you can\u2019t even think of being seen with adidas or Pumas on — you\u2019re strictly Nike. I feel that adds a little more to it because I like to change up what I wear. Having your own brand, that just makes it better for me and my brothers.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: Is there any trash talk on who has the best shoe?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> We are competitive but we make it a fun thing. We want to see who has the best shoe, who makes the best one and which one people like the most. That just helps make the process more fun.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: It seems like your brothers are the more outgoing and you seem more chill and laid back. How are you looking to express your personality more when your shoe is launched?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> A lot of people will tell you I\u2019m funny once you get to know me. If I don\u2019t know you, I\u2019m not going to be all hyped up and all of that. I\u2019m going to chill. When I warm up and people get to know me, they see I\u2019m a funny dude and they just like being around me. I think people will get to see that and they\u2019ll make the decision to get the shoe from there.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: In regards to your basketball career, what options would you consider as a player?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LiAngelo Ball:<\/strong> Right now, I\u2019m taking it day by day. I\u2019ll be willing to play in the G-League and get moved up from there. That\u2019s an option. I\u2019m not going to play in the JBA. I feel like that\u2019s taking a step back for me. If I have to play in the G-League then that\u2019s what it\u2019s going to be. I\u2019m not running away from the work.<\/p>\n

Keep up with Gelo on IG<\/a> and special thanks to Foot Locker.<\/em><\/p>\n

Imagery via Zimbio<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixty names were called during last week\u2019s NBA Draft. LiAngelo Ball wasn\u2019t one of them. From his time over in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328321,"featured_media":778461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1231471,51],"tags":[1230901],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe | Snkrs Day<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Where to buy LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe for sale.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Where to buy LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe for sale.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Snkrs Day\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NiceKicks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-27T13:07:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-22T02:59:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2018\/06\/liangelo-ball-lead.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"546\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christopher Cason\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@snkrsday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@snkrsday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christopher Cason\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"WebPage\",\"ItemPage\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/\",\"name\":\"LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe | Snkrs Day\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2018\/06\/liangelo-ball-lead.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-06-27T13:07:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-22T02:59:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"Where to buy LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe for sale.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2018\/06\/liangelo-ball-lead.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2018\/06\/liangelo-ball-lead.jpg\",\"width\":\"1024\",\"height\":\"546\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Brands\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/brand\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Big Baller Brand\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/brand\/big-baller-brand\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/\",\"name\":\"Snkrs Day\",\"description\":\"Sneakers News. Culture. Community.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Snkrs Day\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2020\/10\/nice-box-400-225.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2020\/10\/nice-box-400-225.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":225,\"caption\":\"Snkrs Day\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NiceKicks\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/nicekicks\",\"http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nicekicks\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/asnkrsdaya\",\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@snkrsday\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/nicekicks\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe | Snkrs Day","description":"Where to buy LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe for sale.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe","og_description":"Where to buy LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe for sale.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/","og_site_name":"Snkrs Day","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snkrsday","article_published_time":"2018-06-27T13:07:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-09-22T02:59:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":546,"url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2018\/06\/liangelo-ball-lead.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Christopher Cason","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@snkrsday","twitter_site":"@snkrsday","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Christopher Cason","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["WebPage","ItemPage"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/","name":"LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe | Snkrs Day","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2018\/06\/liangelo-ball-lead.jpg","datePublished":"2018-06-27T13:07:58+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-22T02:59:43+00:00","description":"Where to buy LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe for sale.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2018\/06\/liangelo-ball-lead.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2018\/06\/liangelo-ball-lead.jpg","width":"1024","height":"546"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/liangelo-ball-talks-basketball-journey-having-his-own-shoe\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Brands","item":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/brand\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Big Baller Brand","item":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/brand\/big-baller-brand\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"LiAngelo Ball Talks Basketball Journey & Having His Own Shoe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/","name":"Snkrs Day","description":"Sneakers News. Culture. Community.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#organization","name":"Snkrs Day","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2020\/10\/nice-box-400-225.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2020\/10\/nice-box-400-225.png","width":400,"height":225,"caption":"Snkrs Day"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snkrsday","https:\/\/x.com\/snkrsday","http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/snkrsday","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/asnkrsdaya","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@snkrsday","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/snkrsday"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777961"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/328321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1149967,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777961\/revisions\/1149967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777961"},{"taxonomy":"cultivate_rss","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cultivate_rss?post=777961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}