By Ashlee Jordan and Keona Frasier

LaVar Ball’s recent business ventures in apparel and professional basketball have made quite a name for his family empire. Ball’s strong personality and domineering attitude has taken the world by storm, gathering criticism and praise.

Recently, LaVar’s Big Baller Brand gave fans a view of his son, LiAngelo Ball’s upcoming signature sneaker, the G3’s, at a pop-up shops in America and London. With LaMelo and Lonzo Ball both debuting a signature sneaker in late 2017, the release of the G3’s will establish all three of his sons with a signature sneaker.

The Big Baller Brand received negative reviews because the starting prices are $395 for the Mello Ball 3’s and $495 for the ZO2’s. Despite the criticism over sales and an F-rating from the Better Business Bureau, LaVar wants to keep expanding the Big Baller Brand.

“It’s not even about the money thing right now. Sometimes people do things for money. Let’s say you bought everything you want; what’s left? You’ve better have a passion to do something. You know our passion is to make this empire as big as possible,” said LaVar in a recent interview with ESPN.

In a statement to SLAM, LaVar announced plans to create a Big Baller Brand sponsored Junior Basketball Association. Nationally ranked high school seniors with ambitions of being drafted into the NBA, as an alternative to college, will be the primary prospects and focus of the association.

His decision to start the association came after LaVar abruptly pulled his youngest son, LaMelo, out of Chino Hills High School. LaVar told ESPN he didn’t want to deal with the high school’s coach.

The Junior Basketball Association is not off to a start LaVar Ball expected. He reached out to three young upcoming players, one in which he spelled their name wrong, and three players declined to play in Ball’s new junior basketball association.

Although the Junior Basketball League is not gaining traction the way LaVar expected, he and his sons are still working. LiAngelo and LaMelo are playing for the Prienu Vytautas in the Lithuanian League and Lonzo is the rookie point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.