Sixers Sneakers – Simmons’ New Shoes Stink
As he promoted on his social media accounts in the past few days, Ben Simmons has a pair of Nike Blazers dropping on Thursday, May 21 as part of the Foot Locker-exclusive Nike ‘Pregame Pack’. Nike tapped Simmons, Luka Dončić, De’Aaron Fox, and Brittney Griner to help “create” pairs of some of their heritage basketball models (my hunch is that the players had nothing to do with the design process). In theory, this sounds like it would be a cool, collaborative project, but it fell flat in execution.
Since we’re Sixers-centric here at The Phifth Quarter, I’ll obviously be focusing on Simmons’ sneaker. His model is called the Nike Blazer Mid ’77 ‘Motivation’. This is the second Blazer he’s been a part of for the brand. There was a red and plaid colorway released last June to little fanfare.
Let’s start with the positives. I love the Nike Blazer. It is a timeless model. I love a clean mid-cut sneaker that isn’t too bulky, and they fit the bill perfectly. The overall message behind the sneaker is nice – Ben Simmons works hard, loves his family, and remembers where he came from. And, in my opinion, that is the end of the positives for this particular sneaker.
I don’t want to go in too hard on these, but here we go. ‘Pride & Passion’ is plastered on the side of the sneaker. For real. It looks so out of place. There is no reason for it at all. What adult would wear this shoe?
credit: SneakerNews.com
The colors don’t make any sense, either. Per Sneaker Freaker, the tongue is ‘eye-catching teal.’ Why? A true green with the yellow at least makes sense and ties them back to Ben’s Aussie roots, but why teal? I’m at a loss. And while I traditionally love a gum sole, they look too clunky and out of place in this usage. This leads into my next issue, but the smooth tan leather on the heel tab, doesn’t work with the distressed gray upper.
credit: SneakerNews.com
Now I haven’t had this sneaker in hand, so I cannot comment on the quality of the materials, but based on the pictures, the cracked/distressed treatment of the suede looks terrible. Don’t sell me something that looks old and used. In college I had ‘bar sneakers’ that I only wore when going out, because I didn’t care if beer got spilled on them. That’s the vibe I get, which probably isn’t what Nike was going for.
credit: SneakerNews.com
I love Ben Simmons and really wanted to like these, but I couldn’t get there. Maybe I’m a hater, but I know what I like, and this isn’t it.
Look out for a giveaway in a few months once these hit the discount racks!
