Lonzo Ball and the curse of history
If there wasn't Magic and Michael, he would've been a star
I like sports; especially when the only controversy is about how much a player made and not their personal life or political views. Different points in your life you will view and engage sports in a different manner and find meaning from it. Of late, I’m engaged in a more business viewpoint and lessons to learn and avoid for myself or for new hires, or picking a sure-thing stock. On Sunday, I randomly viewed/listened to
How to Destroy an NBA Career: The Tragic Lonzo Ball Story
as I was cleaning up and filling up gas this weekend and I felt motivated to write a bit about it.
First, all I know about Lonzo was the hype during draft season, his dad’s antics, his overpriced sneaker, a brother of his shoplifting in China, and an all-star younger bro. And as of 2023, a lackluster career with ups and downs. I have been rooting for the Bulls as I also am a fan of Billy Donovan the coach (love his military hair cut). But like any good American I like seeing a humbled start rise up and show the world his talent; albeit, after being humbled.
And now is his time for that. But unfortunately his current injury may be too much to overcome.
From this educational video, it shows how a series of unfortunate decisions that were completely avoidable multiplied to unavoidable consequences. I hope that this rare talent will have his chance and go and show the sparks of genius he has and be a great 6th man as Luke Walton was (I read his bio did anyone else?). This video helped enlighten me to something I have been observing in sports: injuries. Way too many by the elite and overly compensated stars. Surely, the NBA teams are not idiotic to blow their money on duds. Now and then, yes, but consistently? There must be other reasons.
And those reasons I feel are the new generation imitating and attempting to stand on the shoulder of giants, - Magic, MJ, and LeBron. And lets throw in the Williams Sisters as well. These rarified stars have been consistent winners for over a decade, have earned unimaginable amounts in sponsorship deals, and have all come from humble backgrounds that most can relate to and copy.
The problem with knowing someone’s story (if indeed their bio is accurate) is that we are given the impression we are intimate with the subject and can duplicate not only their talent but their business acumen.
While Lonzo Ball has amazing and stellar talent and a focus honed by his dad and at an early age, the documentary shows that he:
*Overtrained at too young of an age
*Had improper and unsupervised training
*No diversity of training and playing (remember how MJ took a Sabbatical to play Baseball?)
These three elements helped give him an early edge over other ball players but his body, nor anybody’s, can handle that much physical stress over a sustained period.
Still, if it wasn’t for the next decision by him and his father, which were purely business, his body and the professional team’s trainers may have helped to correct.
And, that is, sneakers.
Lately, there has been some great documentaries and shows about basketball. The ones I want to briefly share are: Showtime (about Magic and the Lakers), Air (about the sneaker deal that made MJ a billionaire)
In Showtime, they cover how Magic signed his Adidas deal while turning down Phil Knight’s offer with Nike. He didn’t really know or have confidence in Nike’s offer, so he played it safe and signed at the time the largest sneaker deal in NBA.
Even with the reliable Adidas sneaker, Magicblew his knee out and no one knew if he would recover.
His focus was on what made Earvin Johnson, “Magic.” He knew his priorities.
These are tidbits of a celebrity’s life we don’t normally learn until he’s well into retirement and the kids that copy don’t learn or appreciate.
In the AIR movie, we see first hand the coming together of a deal and union between Nike and MJ (and his mom). So for a new generation, why do a deal with someone else when you can own the company like the Balls?
The problem was that the sneakers were not good. The quality was horrible. You cant play professional level sports and have sneaker tear up every quarter.
At end of the day, Magic made a lot of money selling sneakers, but Michael Jordan became a billionaire owning a piece of every shoe sold. A million? A billion? these are large numbers and Magic had a million that is worth a lot more in today’s currency. When you’re a great athlete the world is your oyster but you still need the best around you to be the best. Enjoy your youth. Greed shouldn’t have been part of the vocabulary when you’re so young. Hunger yes.
Magic and MJ knew that the first focus is on being able to perform on the court and have the right tools in hand to succeed. You are where you are because of your talent and people will pay for your athletic gear as long as you perform at a level we all hope to aspire too.
I’ll conclude this brief missive with Adam Sandler’s Oscar-worthy monologue that’s worthy for any blue blooded athlete to internalize.
“Do you love the game?”
PS. As of this writing, the media has publicized that Magic is now a billionaire. He made it to that level, not by some grand plan, but making good decisions over time and enjoying himself.