Ja Morant dropped a big announcement ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies’ Christmas Day game: he is getting a brand new signature shoe with Nike.
The Nike Ja 1 imagery came out on Sunday, and it immediately caused a stir:
FIRST LOOK: The Nike Ja 1 — @JaMorant’s first signature shoe 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/u3nXQ4Qlyy
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) December 25, 2022
NBA Twitter is one of the most vocal communities around. Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of takes on the new kicks.
They varied in intensity and opinion:
Happy for Ja, and it’s a great start, but Nike needs to get more imaginative with the designs. https://t.co/d4bG6BQapq
— Brandon Pope TV (@BpopeTV) December 25, 2022
I love Ja but.. https://t.co/ezevHxb0xu pic.twitter.com/6YpMWd6vgM
— #BlackVibesMatter (@7degREEscold) December 25, 2022
Copping https://t.co/6NdGP0DMIM
— Logan McCuiston (@LoganMcCuiston2) December 25, 2022
This not it gang https://t.co/ulCyS20fff
— Kirisu (@KirisuTwo) December 25, 2022
These Tough https://t.co/zwkzjvulmX
— BabyGoat. (@SleazyTino) December 25, 2022
One person who had a really blunt take on Morant’s new shoe was Brooklyn Nets star, Kevin Durant.
It’s a sad day knowing Ja will never hoop in the KD4s again….great start for 12 brand with these… https://t.co/E2OsR3tWkh
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) December 25, 2022
That is quite the praise from Durant, who can be notoriously prickly online (when he isn’t scoping out other athletes’ wives).
Durant stuff notwithstanding, this is obviously a huge accomplishment for Morant. Everyone knew this was coming after Nike dumped Kyrie Irving, but that doesn’t detract from the specialness of the moment.
Morant has been on a crazy run in 2022. Between taking Drake’s girl, subsequently dropping Drake’s girl for someone else and then that one tennis star he had his eye on – he has been thriving both on and off the court.
The photos speak for themselves. https://t.co/YZgYUOXaeE
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 25, 2022
This shoe drop is just further proof of that.
As long as he can remain healthy, Morant will soon become the face of the league in a way nobody expected when he was coming out of college.
Related: Nets Star Kevin Durant Names His Nicest NBA Teammate Ever (Video)
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
