Tag: Montrezl Harrell

Montrezl Harrell opens up about his obsession with sneakers

He can’t pick his favorite pair — there are too many.

Being a sneaker head in the NBA gets competitive.

There are a ton of great kicks that hit the court each and every night. Not just normal, run of the mill basketball shoes — the OG’s. Basketball sneakers from the 90’s, the early hits from the signature lines of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Forgotten heat from Adidas and Reebok.

There are a ton of players with a ton of gems, but not many get to the level that Clippers’ center Montrezl Harrell does. His collection stretches into the thousands and is still growing. He’s got it all — from Allen Iverson’s Question shoe to Nike’s Off White collaborations and everything in between.

In an interview with For The Win, Harrell talked about his passion for sneakers and why sneaker culture means so much to him.

FTW: You know we have to talk about shoes. If you could boil it down for us, what’s your favorite pair to hoop in?

Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Montrezl Harrell: I don’t even have an answer for that. I’ve hooped in so many shoes. There are just so many. I mean, I even switch going into the next half during games. I just have so many. I wish I could pick one.

Let me ask you this, then. Could you pick a pair from this season that have been your favorite to hoop in so far?

MH: Just all of them, man. I love them all. I can’t pick. I really wish I had an answer for your question, but I can’t pick.

I know you’ve got, what, over 2,000 pairs, or something crazy like that, right? When did this become a passion for you? Is there a particular moment that you go to?

Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

MH: It just became a hobby, something I love doing. Going into the history of a shoe, just something that runs deep in me.

I would have to say it started when I was younger, just being the oldest of three siblings. You know my parents and grandparents did the best they could for me and my two younger brothers but shoes wasn’t always a huge priority. We wanted to make sure we had clothes.

I was never able to get shoes the way that I do now. I’ve been a huge fan of shoes ever since I can remember man.

What’s it like to see sneakers coming into the mainstream like this? It’s always been a counterculture, but I’m asking you about it in an interview now. We see kicks all over social. It wasn’t like this 10 years ago.

Photo: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

MH: It’s great to see shoes coming into the mainstream, coming into the world that we live in today man. It’s amazing that you see so many different diverse people wearing something that they feel kind of represent what they feel. People wear shoes to events, parties, all types of things. Just to see how far it’s come and see where it’s at. Now there’s no boundaries.

Is that why you’re so big into the custom game? Because of that representation? It seems like you’ve always got some type of cartoon design on your joints every time I’m watching. What’s the inspiration behind that?

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

MH: It’s not really a custom as far as animated shoes, it’s usually just something that hits home with me…things I love. When I go into being able to customize my shoes I’m able to express myself even deeper. I’ve created so many connections with so many artists because of it. I get to do what I love by being able to put those shoes on the court.

One last thing. You’ll probably say you, but who are some folks with collections that you check for? Who in the NBA or otherwise has the best collections? Can you rank them?

MH:  Some of the guys that I watch a lot is Perfect Pair. I would have to say my guy in Detroit, Jumpman Bostic. Nate Robinson has a pretty good collection. Nick Young’s collection is pretty dope, too. DJ Khaled has a pretty good collection. Josh Childress is one that really surprised me… There are a lot of guys I watch.

Tell us what you’re doing with the folks over at Bumble

You know, Bumble is a great app for meeting people. Outside of the dating, there’s the social networking aspect of it. It allows people to connect with each other. And what makes this different is that the women actually have to make the first move…With the world that we live in today, I just feel like that’s big. Even outside of that, it’s going out and meeting and connecting with people.

[jwplayer YgihEsh5-q2aasYxh]

Spencer Dinwiddie started NBA award campaign — for opposing players

Spencer Dinwiddie has cast his choices for the NBA’s Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year Awards.

Kobe Bryant said it himself, Spencer Dinwiddie is playing like an All-Star.

With Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert out, the point guard has become Brooklyn’s leader in the scoring column and in the closing minutes of ballgames. As a result, he’s been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week once, was a nominee on two other occasions and Dinwiddie was an Eastern Conference Player of the Month nominee for games played in October and November.

Now, the fact he’s performing as well as he has as a starter has helped his chances at making the NBA All-Star game, but there’s an award Dinwiddie is also making a run at — one that he may have a better shot at winning than getting an All-Star nod.

Most Improved Player.

Though, there are other quality candidates around the league. In fact, Dinwiddie started campaigning for one of them on Sunday: Charlotte’s Devonte’ Graham.

Some fans thought the point guard had the wrong player from the Southeast Division. They made the case for Miami’s Bam Adebayo:

Dinwiddie didn’t stop there.

The award the point guard was expected to contend for entering the season was Sixth Man of the Year. Of course, Clippers guard Lou Williams is the favorite having won it each of the last two years. But Dinwiddie thinks the honor should actually go to one of Williams’ teammates: Montrezl Harrell.

Still a lot of season left. Once Irving is back, Dinwiddie can starting working toward Sixth Man of the Year again. Until then, he’ll just have to shoot for All-Star.

RELATED: Kobe Bryant paid Spencer Dinwiddie a high compliment before Saturday’s game

Paul George is back, but the Clippers still aren’t as good as they can be

The Clippers are nowhere near their peak right now.

The Clippers are scary. But it’s not because of what they’ve done to this point. It’s all about what they’re going to do.

Don’t get it twisted — they still look solid right now. At 9-5 as the West’s fourth seed. That isn’t the exact spot you’d expect a team with championship expectations to be in a few weeks into the season, but it’s a fine spot.

Yet, there’s not a single soul around that is actually worried about them and for good reason. They’re not even close to hitting their stride yet. We won’t see that until later this year.

The team the Clippers have trotted out on the court over the first few weeks of the season is not the team we’re going to see when the postseason rolls around. It’s not even the team that they’re going to roll out come January. They’ll get a lot better a lot sooner than you think.

The Clippers haven’t put the pieces together yet

They just got Paul George back and he looks like an MVP candidate through three games. He’s averaging 29.3 points per game and is, somehow, in the 50-50-95 club with his shooting splits. That includes his Staples Center debut with 37 points against the Hawks.

To call his first three games a hot start would be disrespectful to how other-worldly he’s actually been.

Kawhi Leonard is, well….Kawhi Leonard. He has to get healthy but he’s a top 3-or-so player when he is. He’s added new skills to his cyborg programming and is playing a lot of point this season. He isn’t shooting that well yet, but he’s still averaging a career high 26.8 points per game.

Here’s the kicker: Those two have yet to play a SINGLE minute together this season. Since George returned, Leonard has been out with a knee contusion. Before Leonard’s knee became a problem, George was recovering from shoulder surgery.

It’s like they’re playing phone tag but with injuries.

The Clippers haven’t really suffered from their star’s absence

They were already a deep team last season with an offense that centered around the pick and roll magic between Lou Williams and Monztrezl Harrell — literally two of the three best bench players in the NBA.

They added two superstars to the equation this season and have constantly had one on the court. The results have been fairly fruitful. Though they’re fourth in the West, their 6.1 net rating is the 6th best in the league and the 2nd best in the West behind only the Lakers.

Net rating is typically a good indicator for which teams around the leagues are most dominant in their wins and the Clippers’ is only going to get better. George and Leonard are two of the best two-way players in the league right now — especially on the perimeter. Their 103.6 defensive rating, specifically, is going to shrink.

Things should start to look normal for the Clippers soon. Leonard was expected back on Monday, but postponed his return because of his knee soreness. Still, he’ll be back before long.

It’ll take a second for the team to gel once they do get their two stars back on the court together, but once things click the rest of the NBA is going to be on notice.