Donald Trump's newest Twitter war has been waged against the father of one of the three UCLA basketball players freed from a Chinese prison a few weeks ago. The players were in jail for stealing from a Louis Vuitton store.

The president has taken some serious knocks during the battle, and last week was accused of systematically attacking black Americans to appeal to racist members of his base. Trump replied to this criticism with a tweet reading "Make America Great Again!"

LaVar Ball, the target of Trump's digital rage, is the father of jailed UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball. He is also the father of NBA player Lonzo Ball. LaVar is also the head of Big Baller Brand, a company that looks to break the stranglehold major sportswear brands like Nike have on the NBA.

Although Lonzo Ball was offered a $10 million dollar sportwear contract, he turned it down to help build his father's brand. So far, Big Baller Brand has come out with a handful of shoes, with its $495 ZO2 at the center of its offering.

ZO2 shoes; Photo: Big Baller Brand

Until now, the Balls' gamble didn't seem to be paying off. ESPN reports that Big Baller's first ZO2 has sold less than one thousand pairs.

However, all that is poised to change. Thanks to being international news due to Trump's feud with him, LaVar Ball and his Big Baller Brand have become household names.

ESPN reports that the brand has received an estimated $13 million worth of free advertising from the Twitter war.

The catapulting of the brand to the national consciousness mirrors Trump's own rise. As a candidate, he spent less than his rivals, relying on his antics to attract news coverage and free advertising. 

The battle between Trump and Ball began after the president took credit from getting the UCLA players out of jail; he tweeted that they ought to thank him.

The president's request for thanks was met with a derision that is perhaps best summed up in this tweet:

Although the players did thank the president, LaVar Ball wasn't so sure Trump deserved any thanks.

“Who?” Ball asked ESPN’s Arash Markazi when brought on to talks about Trump’s involvement in his son being freed. “What was he over there for? Don’t tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out.”

The president wasn't having that, and tweeted out the following:

This presidential tweet, and the tweets that followed led to LaVar Ball being invited to speak on CNN and other national media outlets.

With all of this new publicity and with tons of new followers on social media, LaVar revealed that everyone who preordered the ZO2 will soon have their shoes, and that Big Baller Brand will be releasing a new shoe late last week:

 

“The only thing better than finishing this chocolate cake is Big Baller Brand has released the ZO2s,” Ball said via a video he posted to Twitter Friday. “They are in flight … tonight.” 

While the Balls are celebrating, another American athlete, Wendell Brown, is currently in a Chinese prison. He has been imprisoned for more than a year, despite having had a trial during which a preponderance of evidence was shown proving him innocent of the crimes he is charged with.

The president has not yet tweeted about him.

Lavar BallLiAngelo Ballpresident trump