It’s got to be the shoes, to paraphrase Mars Blackmon.
When it comes to training NBA players on how to improve their jumpers, few shooting coaches carry the gravitas that legendary NBA shooting coach Lethal Shooter possesses. Lethal Shooter emphasizes the significance of correct footwork and guide hand placement for effective shooting, honing in on a player’s lazy shooting form and highlighting the importance of proper technique.
But it might surprise you to know that the legendary shooting coach also believes that using the proper footwear is also critical not only to a players’ shooting technique on the court, can also his ability to prevent injuries.
Lethal Shooter dived into the relationship between shoes and player performance at the NBA level on a recent episode of the Complex “Full Size Run” podcast.
Check out the clip embedded above to hear what he had to say about kicks, shots, and success.
Take a peek at how they look — and feel free to vote on your favorite.
The Jordan Brand signature Jayson Tatum 1 line of Nike sneakers has officially announced a new set of colorways for the popular NBA kicks per new reporting from Complex’ Brandon Richard, with the new crop of four signature sneakers that reflect the Boston Celtics star’s personal life as did the initial four colorways. The first of the four, dubbed “Old School,” will be released on July 15 of this year and reflects Tatum’s fandom of American automobiles.
The next, dubbed “Denim” for a fashion favorite of Tatum, comes out on August 10. The “Wave Runner” colorway, due out on October 20, is a nod for he and Deuce Tatum’s love for water sports, and the “Cool Grey” colorway is a nod to the Air Jordan 11s, the Duke alum’s favorite all-time sneaker.
Let’s take a peek at how they look — and feel free to vote on your favorite in the poll below.
Which of the new Jordan Tatum 1 Colorways do you like best?
Hear what Brown had to say about his role in helping start the so-called shoe wars and more.
Legendary Boston Celtics dunk champion Dee Brown was so much more than a high-flying novelty act on the basketball court.
Of course, his aerial proclivities certainly did not hurt his career as an NBA player. His high-flying skills opened doors to him that left Brown with tales for the ages, like the time he met His Airness Michael Jordan at a party after a dunk contest.
In a recent interview with Los Angeles Lakers icon Michael Cooper, the Jacksonville native talks about Michael Jordan’s ultra-competitive nature and how he wanted to win on and off the court, how his dunk contest victory with Reebok Pumps affected Jordan, as it put a dent in his Nike endorsement, and more.
Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what Brown had to say about his role in helping start the so-called shoe wars and more in the video embedded below.
If there was any doubt as to why Larry Legend did not eschew a career on the court for one on the stage, this might be the best evidence we have to settle such a question.
When it comes to the Hick From French Lick (as Boston Celtics Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird was affectionately known by his fans), very few people stacked up against the all-time great on the basketball court. But fewer today know about Bird’s incredibly brief career as a rap artist.
Yes, you read that right — though we might be stretching the concept of rapper about as far as one can before it ceases to make any sense. In an ad for one of the first sneakers sold with the endorsements of multiple NBA players, the Indiana native dropped some (very awkward) bars to finish the cipher started by lifelong friend and rival Magic Johnson.
“The Converse Weapon, that’s the shoe,” began Johnson. “Lets Magic do what he was born to do.” Detroit Pistons icon Isiah Thomas followed with “Maybe so, but that’s not all. Lets Isiah play like he’s 10 feet tall.”
“For the types of moves that never fail, the Weapon is the choice of Kevin McHale,” countered Bird’s star teammate, with Mark Aguirre and Bernard King dropping some verses before Bird took it home with “You already know what they did for me — I walked away with the MVP.”
If there was any doubt as to why Larry Legend did not eschew a career on the court for one on the stage, this might be the best evidence we have to settle such a question.
But then, very few NBAers have ever made that leap successfully — and fewer still with the level of skill on the court Bird possessed (h/t to Sportscasting’s Mike Thomas).
Associated with the ancestors of today’s indigenous cultures of what is today Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, the Caribbean, and the US Southwest, the sport bears a clear resemblance to basketball.
While the consensus on the origin of the sport of basketball places its origin as a sport to Springfield’s James Naismith, there have been a few competing claims over the decades, such as that of Lambert Will of Herkimer, New York. But if one looks at the general concept of putting a bouncy ball through a hoop, the roots of such sport go much deeper in the history of the Americas.
Ahead of the Boston Celtics’ first round tilt with the Atlanta Hawks, Boston’s Jaylen Brown paid homage to those roots in the form of sneakers painted to raise awareness of the Maya or Mesoamerican ball game as a progenitor of sorts for the sport Brown now plays for a living.
Associated with the ancestors of today’s indigenous cultures of what is today Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, the Caribbean, and the US Southwest, the sport bears a clear resemblance to basketball.
The Maya Ballgame “Pok Ta Pok” was a ritual deeply ingrained in the Maya culture. It served much more than being just a sporting event, it was a way of calming disputes and settling arguments which avoided wars. There are many versions of the game. pic.twitter.com/Lp6XhkwYoW
Jaylen Brown is rocking a pair of green and black sneakers with a photo of Bill Russell for game one of the postseason.
Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown laced up with a very interesting pair of sneakers for Game 1 of the 2023 NBA postseason. Brown wore green and white shoes which featured a photo of Bill Russell, a nice homage to the eleven-time champion.
Russell passed away this summer at the age of 88. Brown, the Celtics, and the entire NBA have honored Russell’s legacy throughout this season, and Russell’s No. 6 was universally retired across the league. Brown’s sneakers are just one of many ways the Georgia native in particular has worked to highlight the life and legacy of one best to ever do it.
Russell was a strong advocate for social justice and racial equality during his playing days and beyond, setting a precedent and culture for the Celtics for years to come. Brown, meanwhile, has been a vocal advocate for social justice and change in the city of Boston and throughout the country since joining the league in 2016.
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The wait for Jayson Tatum’s first signature shoe is officially over.
With Jayson Tatum’s first signature shoe, the “Zoo” colorway of the Tatum 1, finally available for mass purchase, the St. Louis native could be seen sporting the red and black kicks on the court in the Boston Celtics’ penultimate home and regular-season contest against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
But much earlier in the day, the former Duke player did his coaches a major solid, the Nike sneaker was handed out to all of Boston’s coaching staff at the team’s practice facility of Auerbach Center.
The lightest shoe in the Michael Jordan-inspired line of sneakers was well-received by the coaching staff.
Check out the clip embedded below to see Taco Jay handing out his signature kicks for yourself, courtesy of our friends over at CLNS Media.
Decades ago, in the Louisiana native’s prime with Boston in the 1960s, Russell decided to endorse a shoe made right here in New England.
Star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown is a sneaker free agent by design, his high standards for what he wants in footwear he would be endorsing with not only his name but also his values make the fit — both literal and metaphorical — critical.
But as is often the case with Brown and the Celtics, the forward-thinking star is following a path blazed long ago by a larger-than-life Boston icon, Hall of Fame Celtics big man Bill Russell. Decades ago, in the Louisiana native’s prime with Boston in the 1960s, Russell decided to endorse a shoe made right here in New England.
And he did it his way, creating a product that extended the life of that shoe company without simply being a transactional renting of Russell’s name and likeness.
A look at Russell’s time with Boston and beyond captured in images. https://t.co/7S248K69Rf
The former UConn standout shared a formative moment when a company tried to aggressively push him to ink a shoe deal.
When it comes to the intense pressure that followed young NBA prospect Jesus Shuttlesworth around like the plague in the classic basketball film “He Got Game,” Boston Celtics alum Ray Allen only needed to draw on his own personal experiences to make his role as Shuttlesworth seem true to life.
Recently, in an interview with fellow Banner 17 titlist James Posey on his “Posecast” podcast, the former UConn standout shared one such formative moment, when FIBA tried to aggressively push him to ink a shoe deal with Allen at the same time he also had a deal with Nike’s Jordan Brand.
The push would help shape his decision, and the reason given for the company he ended up choosing, for the onetime Celtics sharpshooter, was simple.
Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear why Allen ultimately elected to pick the shoe company he did while a rookie in the league.
The Celtics star was in a revelatory mood after helping dispatch Brooklyn Thursday.
For star Boston Celtics swingman Jayson Tatum, his postgame media availability after Boston’s win over the Nets on Thursday was dually revelatory. On the more serious side of things, the Duke alum shared that on top of his chronic wrist issues, he has also been playing through what sounds like a minor if nagging hand injury as well.
Referencing his wrist, Tatum shared via CLNS Media that he has had “issues with my thumb and recently my ring finger” he has been taping up to help ease the discomfort. The St. Louis native also spoke about the leaked images purporting to be of his new signature shoe, which Tatum suggested were not the finished product that will hit the stores soon.
“Truthfully, that’s not the real picture,” he explained. “I’ve seen the not-real version that came out today.”
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