LaMelo Ball signed a multi-year shoe deal with Puma in October 2020 at age 19, a month before the Charlotte Hornets drafted him third overall. He had already released the MB1 through his family’s Big Baller Brand in 2017 and won Rookie of the Year in Australia’s NBL with the Illawarra Hawks. He said Puma would “allow me to just be myself.” He was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 and was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2026.

The Puma MB.01 launched in December 2021 as Puma Hoops’ first signature shoe since the brand returned to basketball in 2018. It paired a Nitro Foam midsole with a 3D-printed upper over breathable monomesh, and it carried flames that match the rocket tattoo on Ball’s ankle along with his “Not From Here” and “Rare” taglines. The MB.02 released in October 2022, extending Nitro foam to both the heel and forefoot and adding a feather-pattern traction inspired by his wing tattoo. The MB.03 debuted in 2023 through an NFT-linked collaboration with Gutter Cat Gang before its October retail release, and it stretched the Nitro foam midsole up onto the upper with a TPU overlay and reinforced toe box. The 2024 MB.04 came in mid and low versions, using 4D printing for zoned durability, TPU forefoot support and compression-molded EVA foam. The MB.05 arrived in August 2025 with a mid-cut upper, a new midfoot cross-strap and barbed-wire details from Ball’s tattoos. The MB.06, his first shoe as a Timberwolf, debuted in a Puerto Rico-exclusive colorway in July 2026 and features a drop-in midsole with dual-density Nitro foam.