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?
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?
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.
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?
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.
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