Orlando’s Paolo Banchero on how his Jordan Tatum 1 PE ‘Huevos Bancheros’ came to be

We thought it might be his ties to fellow Duke alum Jayson Tatum, but we guessed wrong.

The Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero has more in common with Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum than he does the country his team played the Atlanta Hawks in on Thursday night as part of the NBA’s 2023 Mexico City Game, but that seemed like an appropriate moment for the Celtics Wire to chat with Banchero about his “Huevos Bancheros” Jordan Tatum 1 PEs.

Before speaking with the Italian-American star forward, we assumed it was the ties between Tatum and Banchero that led to the sneakers inspired by the classic Mexican breakfast — huevos rancheros (rancher’s eggs) — the shoes play off in their name and are inspired by.

But the Magic star set us straight with the actual origin story of the iconic sneaker designs of Tatum’s signature shoe. “Last year when I was a rookie we was trying to come up with ideas for the PEs,” began Banchero.

“I think they saw it on Twitter (…) somebody posted or made a comment and (Jordan Brand) found it and thought it would be a great idea, and I wanted to make a shoe with that name.”

“I love how it came out,” he added of the sneakers, which have beige perhaps inspired by tortillas, yellow and white that could be for eggs and crema (similar to sour cream), and green and orange that might be inspired by avocado and chile morrón (bell peppers, in this case, orange).

“It was a very unique shoe!” said Banchero. And given our chat was taking place in the global capital of huevos rancheros, we’re inclined to agree.

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