Los Angeles, CA - 

No shade to Michael Jordan, but The Game is choosing to support Lonzo Ball and his family, including his infamous father Lavar, with the purchase of their Big Baller Brand ZO2: Prime sneakers. He claims he’s choosing the shoes instead of Jordans because to be quite frank, MJ hasn’t done much for the Black community.

A receipt of Game’s nearly $2,000 purchase was posted to his Instagram Thursday (May 11) along with a myriad of reasons as to why he felt compelled to buy the $495 black and gold kicks for his son and all his friends.

“Funny how niggas will go & buy Gucci flip flops for $300-400 with no complaints but then complain & bitch when a kid & his family is making a name for themselves & trying to grow their own brand…..,” the Compton, California native captioned on his IG post. “I also think about all these $500 duplicate Jordans niggas out here going broke & dying over just trying to keep up with Jones’s…. While MJ, as much as I love & support him & his legacy ain’t really ever did much for the black community other then tax our mothafuckin’ ass for the same shoes over & over as well as charge these kids parents hella money to get in these camps.”

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The Game also has plans on kicking out more dough for 10 more pairs of the Big Baller Brand shoes. He plans to put them on the feet of some kids whose parents can’t afford the shoes on behalf of his Robin Hood Project.

Just bought my son @hvrlemtaylor & a few of his friends the "Lonzo @zo Ball's" #Z02 kicks just on the pure fact that I've spent over a million dollars, shit probably more on Nike's, Jordan's & other big name sneaker brands in my lifetime so why not support a family brand & a rising stars shoe….. Funny how niggas will go & buy Gucci flip flops for $300-400 with no complaints but then complain & bitch when a kid & his family is making a name for themselves & trying to grow their own brand….. I also think about all these $500 duplicate Jordans niggas out here going broke & dying over just trying to keep up with Jones's…. While MJ, as much as I love & support him & his legacy ain't really ever did much for the black community other then tax our mothafuckin' ass for the same shoes over & over as well as charge these kids parents hella money to get in these camps. & again, no hate… MJ is MJ but today I chose to support @Zo & his family…. fuck how anybody feel about it… keep making memes if that's all yo broke hatin ass can do….. maybe sometimes, people need to delete the meme app off they phone & start creating their own legacy instead of picking apart someone else's….. I will also be buying 10 more pair of @Zo's kicks for 10 kids who's parents can't afford them….. on behalf of myself & @therobinhoodproject #DatWay #TheRobinHoodProject #BigBallerBrand #itAintTrickinIfYouGotIt

A post shared by The Game (@losangelesconfidential) on

The reasoning behind The Game’s ZO2 buy echoes that of Slim Thug‘s as well. The Houston rap legend posted to his own Instagram account a screenshot of him purchasing the sneakers, saying that he buys ugly designer shoes all the time so why not support his own people?

The ZO2: Prime’s price point has been the source of controversy since the onyx silhouette was unveiled. Described as a “first class fit for any collection,” Lavar defends the price tag as being symbolic when he made a recent appearance on FOX’s Undisputed.

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“That shoe is symbolic already on the fact that he’s coming in with his own brand,” he explains in reference to his son Lonzo Ball. “Nobody’s ever done that. So if I sell 50 shoes, who cares? It’s a family thing. It’s for the family, I make them all for Lonzo. Lonzo has his own shoe.”

While some, including Shaquille O’Neal, have attacked the father for making such a pricey shoe, others have been supportive and have no shame displaying their support like Chad Ochocinco, Slim Thug and The Game have.