Tag: signature shoes

NBA G League star Scoot Henderson’s new Puma deal will completely shift the league’s landscape for years to come

Scoot Henderson is here to change the game.

Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.

What’s good, family. It’s Sykes here, once again, getting you warmed up with Layup Lines. Let’s get it popping with a quick word on Scoot Henderson.

This is a name many of you probably haven’t heard just yet. H’s the kid who signed the first multi-year contract with the G League Ignite at 17 years old. This dude is a five-star prospect who went straight to the pros in high school.

Now, he’s got a Puma Deal.

The brand officially announced their endorsement deal with Henderson on Tuesday. The 7-figure, multi-year contract is the richest endorsement deal ever signed by a non-draft eligible player, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

This deal will almost certainly shift the landscape of the basketball world in a few ways.

First, with LaMelo Ball and Scoot Henderson, Puma might have two of the most interesting under-23 players in the NBA by the start of next season.  That’s a huge deal.

But second, and more importantly, Henderson getting this deal shows us just how viable an option the G League is for high school prospects.

The knock on the league has always been that players won’t be marketed well enough. After all, the NCAA is a more well-known entity than the G League. And, now that NIL deals are a thing, you’d probably have more of a chance to earn money off your likeness in college than you would in the NBA G League.

That certainly rings true in a lot of cases. But Henderson just proved the G League isn’t a 0-sum move. His deal is massive and probably bigger than most NIL checks.

Most of that is because of Henderson’s talent — he’s got No. 1 pick potential. But, regardless, it’s clear the opportunity is there. Players will see that and they’ll try and seize it.

So don’t be shocked if we see even more players taking the Henderson route very, very soon.

The Tip-Off

Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA Draft is only 8 days away. It’s a great time for you to start cramming and hoping your favorite team gets a good one. There’s nobody better to catch you up than our Bryan Kalbrosky.

Bryan had an interview with Jaylin (Not JALEN) Williams today and he asked him about a number of things from why he takes so many charges to playing for Eric Musselman at Arkansas to having someone in this draft class with the same name as him.

But what tickled me the most was his answer when Bryan asked how much he watched film.

“Every day! I shouldn’t say this, but in college, I would watch film in class. [Laughs] But on the way back from games, if I couldn’t get film yet, I would study the box score. I’m always watching the games. I always had to watch the game at least one time before I went to sleep just to see what I could have done better and to see what the team could have done better. We would watch film before practice. That added to what I did on my own, too.”

No wonder this guy takes so many charges.

Shootaround

(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

— I could watch Boban Marjanovic block these shots from 8-year-olds all day.

— Here are 6 players who could potentially be traded on NBA Draft day. Things might get crazy, y’all.

— Speaking of the draft, there’s no way Paolo Banchero makes it beyond the Rockets at No. 3.

— The 76ers are trying to trade everything. 

That’s a wrap, folks! Can’t wait for the basketball tomorrow. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

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SPECIAL DELIVERY: Kawhi Leonard’s new KAWHI II signature shoe is literal money

CHA CHING $$$$$

Kawhi Leonard might not be playing basketball with the Los Angeles Clippers right now, but his new signature shoe is still here.

New Balance just debuted Leonard’s brand new Kawhi II and the shoe is literally money. Seriously. It’s design was inspired by a 100 dollar bill.

This thing is pretty unique from the inspiration to the design to all of the different symbols that come with the sneaker’s story. But the timing behind it is still pretty odd considering Leonard might not play at all this year after tearing his ACL during last season’s playoffs.

But that probably doesn’t matter as much to New Balance in this case. We explain exactly why on the latest episode of Special Delivery.

Tap in, y’all.

Kobe Bryant’s estate could be launching its own brand and that’s awesome

The Bryant estate is taking the power into their own hands.

It really looks like this might be the end of Kobe Bryant’s signature sneaker line with Nike.

On Tuesday, news broke that Kobe Bryant’s deal with Nike had expired in April after 18 years of being together. They couldn’t agree to terms on an extension with Vanessa Bryant and Kobe’s estate.

There were several reasons they couldn’t agree to terms, according to reporting from ESPN’s Nick DePaula.

Vanessa Bryant had reportedly become frustrated with how limited the availability of Bryant’s shoes had been during his retirement and after his death.

It looks like she might be able to fulfill that promise — it just might not be with Nike.

Apparently, the Bryant estate has already filed trademarks on for footwear, apparel, and multiple logos, per Nice Kicks.

Included in that list is “Kobe Bryant,” Bryant’s signature, “Mamba,” “Mamba League,” and a Mamba logo.

These trademarks were filed before contract negotiations fell through, so clearly this is something that Vanessa Bryant and the estate have been thinking about for quite some time. The door isn’t quite closed, but it’s pretty close.

This was bound to happen, though. Nobody seems happy with the way Nike has been releasing Bryant’s signature sneakers since his untimely death. They’ve been extremely limited every time they’ve dropped. And Mamba Week last August was an absolute disaster.

Months later, Nike released the Kobe ‘Grinch’ 6’s and the result was the same. Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram to publicly state that she was working with Nike to increase stock, but nothing has changed since.

They haven’t been satisfied with the way these drops have gone. This is the estate taking that power back. That’s an amazing thing.

No, the shoes wouldn’t be Nikes. But even if they aren’t, fans of Bryant won’t care. They just want something to remember their fallen idol with.

And if this move gets them that? That’s a big win for everyone.

Watch our new sneaker unboxing show, Special Delivery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RULSgRvtzLs&t=128s

Kevin Durant unveiled his new signature shoe and sneakerheads were thrilled about a key detail

The KD 14 features a pretty cool callback to his older shoes

We finally got our first official look of Kevin Durant’s new signature sneaker after Durant posted them to Twitter himself.

Before we get into the details of the shoe, it’s pretty wild to see that we’ve got 14 Kevin Durant signature shoes. The only other two athletes to have as many are Michael Jordan and LeBron James. That’s pretty elite company, in itself.

But, beyond that, these things looked pretty incredible. The details are pretty slick and the initial black and white colorway looks pretty good.

Durant was holding the shoe himself in his post along with a few official images from Nike.

They’re pretty good! And that’s saying a lot about a signature basketball shoe. They haven’t been the greatest over the years.

But sneakerheads were excited about this one. Why? Because the strap is back.

This is the first Kevin Durant shoe to feature a midsole strap since the KD 7. It was previously featured on the KD 4, 6 and 7 and those are all absolute classic signature shoes.

These shoes are a pretty clear call back to that.

What a look. Can’t wait to see these on the court.

See a reported first look at Zion Williamson’s new signature Jordan Brand shoe

They’re finally here.

Zion Williamson is finally about to have a signature shoe. We’ve all known this moment was coming as soon as he signed his massive deal with Jordan Brand, but it looks like it’ll be here soon.

Last September, reports surfaced about Zion Williamson’s upcoming signature shoe dubbed the “Z-Code.” It slated to debut in April of 2021. We’ve known the date, but we didn’t know what the shoe actually looked like.

Until now, that is.

We have our first look at Zion Williamson’s upcoming Z-Code. Sneaker News shared a photo on Instagram of the top of the shoe with a clean look at the logo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CL59BzCLCtn/

The upper seems to be a knit material and it seems to be a pretty colorful model on the outsole and at the eyelets. But the rest of the model seems to just be black and white. The logo also seems to be just a Z and a W, which is pretty boring.

That’s all we can tell so far from this picture. But remember, this isn’t an official image from Jordan Brand. When we get a true look at this thing, it might look a bit different.

We’ll see. Hopefully, they hit the court soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P96ldawYr5s&feature=youtu.be

Special Delivery: EXCLUSIVE interview with photographer Devin Allen on his NEW Under Armour line

Devin Allen did it big for Black History Month.

Devin Allen is a man of many titles and many talents. He’s an activist, a photographer and an artist.

You’ve seen his work on the cover of TIME Magazine, where he shot some of the most raw moments from the Freddie Gray protests of 2015 in Baltimore. He also shot protests after George Floyd was killed by police officers in 2020.

Now, you also know him as a sneaker designer.

Allen teamed up with Under Armour to create their new collection for Black History Month. Allen designed his own colorways on four different distinct silhouettes with the brand — the Curry 8, the HOVR Phantom 3, the Forge and the Spawn 3.

They were each inspired by his upbringing in West Baltimore and all of the work he’s done to uplift the community around him. He joined the SPECIAL DELIVERY crew to talk about those inspirations, his designs and what it means to him to have his own sneaker.

Here is that conversation.

Special Delivery: Unboxing Russell Westbrook’s brand new ‘Why Not’ Zer0.4

Let Westbrook be Westbrook.

Over the years, Russell Westbrook has been one of the most polarizing players in the NBA, both on and off of the court.

On the court, he’s loud and explosive. He’s boisterous. You know when getting ready to fly down the lane for a wild dunk or when he’s about to sky in for a rebound that a point guard has no business grabbing.

Off of it? He’s loud and explosive, too. Except it’s with fashion instead of a basketball. Russ has been known to give off a funky fit for every game through the season and he never wears the same thing twice.

People always wonder what makes this man tick — how he became the person and player he is.

His brand new signature shoe with Jordan Brand explains it all.

In today’s episode of Special Delivery, we explore the “upbringing” colorway of Russ’ brand new ‘Why Not’ Zer0.4 in detail. This shoe is put together like a puzzle — all the pieces are made of the things from his hometown of LA that inspired him to be the player and the person he is today.

You don’t want to miss it. Tap in.

LaMelo Ball made the best decision by signing with Puma

This should work out nicely for LaMelo.

It’s official. LaMelo Ball is a member of Puma’s basketball family. The two sides had been connected in the rumor mill since August, but they were still in the negotiation stage.

This time, things are for real. With this news, LaMelo becomes the first member of the Ball family to officially sign a shoe deal outside of Big Baller Brand.

Ball and Puma both announced the partnership on Twitter Wednesday morning. They unveiled a new commercial with Ball as well as what seems to be his new tag line with Puma for the foreseeable future: “Not from here.”

In the video, he shoots a step back jumper and somehow teleports to grab his own rebound.

They’re implying that he’s a basketball alien from out of this world, which is made even more clear when you look at the backdrop for this promotional shoot.

They already have some LaMelo merch popping too, per ESPN’s Nick DePaula.

This is great move for Ball. Puma is the perfect landing spot to carry on the foundation he built at Big Baller Brand.

He’ll be a priority for Puma. Ball is going to be the feature for Puma’s basketball roster from day one. He wasn’t finding that anywhere else. Nike has LeBron James and a bunch of All-Stars. Adidas? James Harden, Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell. New Balance? Kawhi Leonard. Even Under Armour has Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid.

Puma’s most notable basketball player at this moment might be Deandre Ayton. And he’s good! Don’t get it twisted. But he’s not among those names mentioned above. LaMelo Ball, right now, is the closest thing Puma has to a star and he hasn’t played a minute yet.

He’s already got a massive following from his work with Big Baller Brand and what the Ball family built through different media partnerships with Facebook. That’s not something they’ll have to worry about.

It’s unclear if Ball will have a signature shoe with Puma. On that, he told Complex “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” It sounds like it’s probably something he’ll have to play his way into at this point.

But he’s got the audience. He’s got the talent. The only thing he has to do now is make sure everything works out on the basketball court. If he does that? Things with Puma will take care of themselves.

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Puma needs LaMelo Ball more than LaMelo Ball needs Puma

LaMelo would be their most popular athlete immediately.

Puma hasn’t had the greatest run in the NBA so far since returning to the court in 2017.

They started off with a bang — they signed Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley to deals to announce their return. Signing the first two picks in an NBA draft is a coup — that’s normally territory reserved for Nike. But Puma did it.

Since then? Crickets. They’ve built up a roster of respectable players — names like Marcus Smart, Rudy Gay, RJ Barrett and Danny Green are along for the ride.

But no one has broken through just yet. They don’t have a star, and that’s what every sneaker brand in the NBA needs to achieve the maximum amount of success. A superstar.

And that’s why it’s imperative that they get this LaMelo Ball deal done, as reported.

Ball is on the verge of finalizing a deal with Puma, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Details aren’t yet available on the deal, but it seems to be close.

Ball is exactly the jolt that Puma needs. He’s coming in with a foundation that has already been built out. He immediately becomes Puma’s headliner. He’s their signature athlete.

They’re starving for a good basketball player. They need a face. Nike has LeBron James. Adidas has James Harden. Under Armour has Stephen Curry. Even New Balance has Kawhi Leonard.

Puma has… J Cole? He’s the only Puma signee with a signature basketball shoe right now. A rapper is currently their only signature athlete.

And, look, J Cole is cool. That’s totally fine. They should build something around J Cole — he’s a great entertainer. And sneaker franchise can be built around entertainers. Just look at Nike and Travis Scott or Yeezy with Kanye West.

But those two are used to push lifestyle and fashion for their companies. J Cole literally has a signature shoe NBA players play in. He’s their signature athlete on the court. That should never be the case.

LaMelo Ball could change that immediately. He finally gives them the face in the NBA. He’s already had a signature shoe — albeit a failed one. But he’s got a team that knows the ropes a bit.  Puma hasn’t had anything close to that.

It might mean giving him a signature shoe from the jump, but they need to land Ball. It might mean partnering with Big Baller Brand in some capacity. It might mean giving LaVar Ball some type of title at the company.

But if that’s what has to be done to land LaMelo as a potential top pick, Puma has to do it. It’s an opportunity they can’t really afford to miss.

Unless, of course, the Pistons actually sign J Cole. Then all bets are off.

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Kobe Bryant’s signature shoes officially have a release date, but they may be hard to get

Kobe’s signature shoe is officially back.

Last week, the release dates of the first few pairs of Kobe Bryant signature sneakers being released since his death were leaked on Eastbay’s shoe release calendar.

For the first time in months, we actually saw proof that we’d be getting more Kobe shoes. There was worry that they’d disappear forever, but they were back. Still, though, there were worries that it might not happen shortly after the releases were removed from Eastbay’s calendar.

Kobe fans can set those worries aside — at least for a moment. Nike made it official on Thursday morning. They’ll be releasing multiple pairs of Kobe’s for what they’re calling “Mamba Week.”

From August 23 through the 29th, Nike is releasing five pairs of Kobe Protro 5’s as well as a Kobe “8/24” Lakers’ jersey.

The jersey sells at $120 and the shoes will retail at $180.

This is great news for Kobe fans. There are a lots of folks out there just looking to buy gear that reminds them of their favorite player.

They didn’t get that opportunity after he immediately passed away because shoe resellers bought up stock everywhere online and immediately moved to go flip them on aftersale market platforms like eBay and StockX for double the price. It was gross.

After that, it took months for official images of any Kobe shoes scheduled to be released to actually surface. And even when they did release again, there weren’t any official release dates.

This moment represents a bit of hope. Only a bit, though. Kobe fans looking to cop up should keep some of that worry with them.

Why? Because Nike might be limiting the stock on these releases. We know they’re doing it with the jersey, at least. And it’ll probably happen with the shoes, too.

If that happens, we’re going to see a lot of the same people looking for more chances to buy Kobe’s shoes at a reasonable price. Hopefully that isn’t the case and everyone who wants a pair gets a chance to get a pair. Only time will tell, though. We’ll see how it plays out.

In the meantime, it’s just good to see Kobe’s shoes back again.