Nike Ja 1 | Ja Morant’s First Signature Shoe

Aside from Ja literally wearing Kobe’s were there low top soccer influenced basketball shoes before the Kobe 4’s?
Not that I can think of. Mids were the way of life and the thought was you would roll your ankle in a Lowtop.

Last Low I can remember someone balling in was Jordan with the 17 low lightings in the ALLSTAR game before Kobe came with the 4s.
 
LeBron has been coming out with low tops since 2004 (Same year Nash wore lows while winning his first MVP), before Kobe even had a Nike deal. Durant has had many models that would draw the Kobe comparison today, yet during the OG run of the KD's no-one likened them to Kobe's. These Kobe Stans, along with the "Kobe this, Kobe that" debate is a byproduct of his passing and Nike's marketing team. It is what it is at this point. As someone who played in the OG Kobe's, its somewhat humorous seeing people swear on their Protros when they're inferior to the OG's AND on top of that, there are models out now that can go toe-to-toe with any Kobe. Btw.. I love Kobe's. I have many "first" basketball moments in Kobe's.

I don't think people realize that brands like Nike, Adidas, Under Armour ultimately dictate what professional players wear on the court. Whatever serves their immediate needs or their current narrative, in this case Kobe's, they'll flood their players with. They'll take something subjective and somehow make people believe it's objectively true when it isn't without even having to present proof. :lol:
 
LeBron wasn't balling in his lows though, was he? I know he released them since the AZG, but so did Jordan since the 1. Jordan actually balled in his though with the 11s and 13s for sure, and I think the 2s as well. The 7 PS' were the first technical semi-low (weird 2 size cut on the inner and outer ankle) he balled in. Hell, even LeBron's cut of the 20s have a little extra height to them.

Nash is a soccer player first. Of course he always believed in balling in lows lol you're not wrong about the marketing though. It's definitely believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.
 
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Why I keep seeing this in my head when the Nets play Memphis?😂🤣😂
 
LeBron wasn't balling in his lows though, was he? I know he released them since the AZG, but so did Jordan since the 1. Jordan actually balled in his though with the 11s and 13s for sure, and I think the 2s as well. The 7 PS' were the first technical semi-low (weird 2 size cut on the inner and outer ankle) he balled in. Hell, even LeBron's cut of the 20s have a little extra height to them.

Nash is a soccer player first. Of course he always believed in balling in lows lol you're not wrong about the marketing though. It's definitely believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.
Nah, the cut on the XX’s isn’t that tall. I wouldn’t consider it a low cut tho, more of a really short mid.
73B269DA-3C4C-4940-A8D6-7F4B97B590EC.jpeg

LeBron is a massive dude (pause) and needs a show that can contain him.


Of course old heads will never admit that hooping in lows is the way to go now, lol.
 
LeBron has been coming out with low tops since 2004 (Same year Nash wore lows while winning his first MVP), before Kobe even had a Nike deal. Durant has had many models that would draw the Kobe comparison today, yet during the OG run of the KD's no-one likened them to Kobe's. These Kobe Stans, along with the "Kobe this, Kobe that" debate is a byproduct of his passing and Nike's marketing team. It is what it is at this point. As someone who played in the OG Kobe's, its somewhat humorous seeing people swear on their Protros when they're inferior to the OG's AND on top of that, there are models out now that can go toe-to-toe with any Kobe. Btw.. I love Kobe's. I have many "first" basketball moments in Kobe's.

I don't think people realize that brands like Nike, Adidas, Under Armour ultimately dictate what professional players wear on the court. Whatever serves their immediate needs or their current narrative, in this case Kobe's, they'll flood their players with. They'll take something subjective and somehow make people believe it's objectively true when it isn't without even having to present proof. :lol:

I think you kinda dancing around that the low tops of the mid 2000’s and before were leather/suede and didn’t have that soccer influence/plastic hyperdunk esque material that every shoe they put that Post-Kobe label on does

I wish they took more Kobe influence here and did something other than that cheap looking mesh on the upper lol.
 
Not that I can think of. Mids were the way of life and the thought was you would roll your ankle in a Lowtop.

Last Low I can remember someone balling in was Jordan with the 17 low lightings in the ALLSTAR game before Kobe came with the 4s.

LeBron has been coming out with low tops since 2004 (Same year Nash wore lows while winning his first MVP), before Kobe even had a Nike deal. Durant has had many models that would draw the Kobe comparison today, yet during the OG run of the KD's no-one likened them to Kobe's. These Kobe Stans, along with the "Kobe this, Kobe that" debate is a byproduct of his passing and Nike's marketing team. It is what it is at this point. As someone who played in the OG Kobe's, its somewhat humorous seeing people swear on their Protros when they're inferior to the OG's AND on top of that, there are models out now that can go toe-to-toe with any Kobe. Btw.. I love Kobe's. I have many "first" basketball moments in Kobe's.

I don't think people realize that brands like Nike, Adidas, Under Armour ultimately dictate what professional players wear on the court. Whatever serves their immediate needs or their current narrative, in this case Kobe's, they'll flood their players with. They'll take something subjective and somehow make people believe it's objectively true when it isn't without even having to present proof. :lol:
Plenty of people played in lows LONG before any of these dudes were even in the league. Isiah Thomas had a low-top sig shoe from Puma back in ‘89 or ‘90. Joe Dumars played in Adidas lows. Clyde Frazier was doing it years before that. And tons of other people. It’s not remotely something new despite the absurd narrative that Kobe or whoever created the idea.
 
Ja's making the shoes look bad
Nah, the cut on the XX’s isn’t that tall. I wouldn’t consider it a low cut tho, more of a really short mid.
73B269DA-3C4C-4940-A8D6-7F4B97B590EC.jpeg

LeBron is a massive dude (pause) and needs a show that can contain him.


Of course old heads will never admit that hooping in lows is the way to go now, lol.

If you had to say "Pause", that means that you weren't thinking about his physical stature when you wrote that.

And us old heads can play in whatever we want.


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No one like who? NBA players?

I been ballin in lows since forever. Used em in dunk contests. Sorry...dunk contest. And played in them in tournaments on both coasts. Long before Kobe (r.i.p.). I can't say I can pinpoint how many other people did at the places I played, and I went the lows route to get more ankle room and lighter weight, but I don't think I could agree Kobe did anything except get bigger guys like power forwards and centers to start wearing lows. Big men usually wore big man shoes.
 
I think y’all arguing two different things.

A shoe simply being low cut is not the same as Kobe specifically looking to soccer to influence his line and the plastic/hyperdunk type material vs. the leather low tops y’all are talking about. That template has influenced a lot of the non LeBron (and even Bron gave in this year) shoes since the Kobe IV-VI.

Full-History-and-Visual-Guide-to-Kobe-Bryant-Shoes-900-thumb-768x768.jpg



Central to Kobe’s sneaker success was the style Kobe and Nike designer (and now creative director) Eric Avar reintroduced to pro hoops: namely, the low-top basketball sneaker. (Avar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)


Kobe, a lifelong soccer fan, insisted on low-top sneakers inspired by that sport’s cleats. In 2009, the Swoosh released the Nike Zoom Kobe IV. Ten years and 12 models later, another Kobe low-top, the Kobe A.D. Exodus, is the signature sneaker most worn by NBA players, according to data collected by Baller Shoes Database.

Side note if they did consistent retros for Kobe they may have a line that would be right under Jordan Brand. I need a pair of 1’s, 6’s and 4’s bad.
 
Nah, the cut on the XX’s isn’t that tall. I wouldn’t consider it a low cut tho, more of a really short mid.
73B269DA-3C4C-4940-A8D6-7F4B97B590EC.jpeg

LeBron is a massive dude (pause) and needs a show that can contain him.


Of course old heads will never admit that hooping in lows is the way to go now, lol.
I meant LeBron’s PE versions. He has the extra eyelit because it’s cut higher for him specifically. The 20s we received retail I would consider lows.
 
All in for the purple ones!
Don’t want to extend the “low” debate but you had shoes like the Zoom Drive (2003) who felt like lows before and were nice to ball in. Whether it’s highs or lows, it also depends on what they’re sitting.
In college we got some highs that were sitting on air bags, every one rolled their ankles in the first practices cause they were too high off the ground.
 

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There were definitely lows in the 80s and 90s

It became the norm norm after kobe tho

I'm an OG at 39 and I'll sway more towards lows than anything

The mesh fuse material is the best for the breathable, lightweight feel, no? And it's cheaper. That's why it's used. And I don't mind it

He'll get premium materials on down the line. Paul George started out with recycled materials and tech and now look, the 6s are a godsend.
 
I don’t understand this “down the line” move. Players with influence and impact that deserve/awarded a signature line should come out the gate with great designs and tech like back in the day. The Penny 1 had more tech and design than the Jordan 11 and it was his first shoe. No restrictions or excuses, straight fire. Do the same for him!🙄
 
I don’t understand this “down the line” move. Players with influence and impact that deserve/awarded a signature line should come out the gate with great designs and tech like back in the day. The Penny 1 had more tech and design than the Jordan 11 and it was his first shoe. No restrictions or excuses, straight fire. Do the same for him!🙄

Penny 1 wasn't a $120 ish sneaker or $60 or $80 cheaper in comparison..

and guards don't need Lebron tech. I don't think Lebron even needs Lebron tech as shown by the 20.
 
Penny 1 wasn't a $120 ish sneaker or $60 or $80 cheaper in comparison..

and guards don't need Lebron tech. I don't think Lebron even needs Lebron tech as shown by the 20.
No it wasn’t. Which was my point.. They didn’t restrict him to a “take down” level for a signature shoe..
 
No it wasn’t. Which was my point.. They didn’t restrict him to a “take down” level for a signature shoe..

because they treated Barkley, Penny, Scottie, Mike as the same level.

Now they don't and they do it for price point for certain markets. They don't just put Giannis and KD up with Lebron, because they would be essentially competing with themselves. Plus with a new sig they try and build a base. A lot more thought and research goes in to what they're doing now.

Plus I think they do that now, because before there was more competition from Adidas and Reebok in the market.
 
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