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)
