What They’re Wearing – Opening Night
Credit: Reebok/Complex
Here we go. The season is upon us.
If you’ve never read my stuff before, welcome to the party. I don’t break down the games from a basketball stand point. There is plenty of top-notch content here at The Phifth Quarter doing that. My niche is the sneakers that the players are wearing in the games (and sometimes before or after).
There will be a bit different format this year. I’ll do a Top 5 for the game(s) I’m highlighting off the top. I’ll have some news and notes if there is anything interesting from the opponents that week.
Also new this season, is my twitter handle. Follow me at @SixersSneakers for tweets during games for updates regarding when your favorite players are wearing. Let’s go.
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Josh Richardson wears the Reebok Question ‘Double Cross’
This was the top sneaker story of the night. Reebok is back on the court for a regular season game in Philadelphia (yes, I know Trey Burke played in them during the pre-season game last week). After weeks of speculation on my part, my hunches were confirmed when Richardson stepped out on court opening night wearing the special edition of Allen Iverson’s first signature sneaker. What I didn’t anticipate was Richardson showing up for the game with cornrows. Nice touch.
Reebok did a good job rolling these out. Initially, they collaborated with Philadelphia-based sneaker store UBIQ for highly anticipated early release. Reaching out to Richardson’s people and negotiating to get these on his feet for a highly anticipated, nationally televised game was also well done. I don’t know the nuts and bolts of his deal with the company, but based on what he wore in pre-season, it does not appear to be exclusive. Here’s to hoping Reebok can get back into basketball full time.
Mike Scott pulls out a rarely seen Nike Hyperdunk 2017
Scott’s sneaker rotation has primarily consisted of various Nike Kobe models during his time in Philly. Tonight, however, he pulled out a Nike Hyperdunk 2017 that was created for Los Angeles’ famed Drew League. These have a cool custom vibe.
Ben Simmons came with heat on and off court
Simmons showed up to the game in a pair of Cactus Plant Flea Market x Nike Blazer ‘Sponge’ By You (formerly NikeID). Since the right and left sneaker could be customized separately with different colors and materials, there were over 115,000 different possibilities. The opportunity for average Joes like us to create our own sold out in minutes, but you can buy a pair that someone else created for $250-350 on secondary markets. His jacket is on point, too.
I already broke down what @BenSimmons25 had on pregame. Here are his on-court sneakers – Nike Zoom Rize in a player exclusive colorway @ThePhifthQ pic.twitter.com/Ee3asIStQT
— Matt Weidner 〽️❌🤙 (@SixersSneakers) October 24, 2019
During the game, he laced up the Nike Zoom Rize in a player exclusive colorway. Al Horford was also wearing the Rize. Unsurprisingly, his were not at flashy.
Nike pushed the Alphadunk as the evolution to their highly regarded (and now defunct) Hyperdunk line, but the tech in this model seems like the natural progression of that line.
Tobias Harris in unreleased Kobe’s
There are a handful of guys throughout the league that are part of an unofficial Team Kobe who have an unlimited supply of various iterations of his sneakers at their disposal. Based on all indications, Harris is a member of that crew. He pulled out a lilac-colored player exclusive version of the Nike Zoom Kobe 4 Protro ‘Wizenard’. The Kobe 4 is my favorite basketball sneaker of all time, so I love every version that Nike continues to roll out. Keep them coming.
Matisse Thybulle scores his first NBA points (in boring sneakers)
The photo above is of Thybulle doing what he does best, but he did score his first regular season points tonight. He was wearing the same white and black that he wore throughout the pre-season Nike PG 2.5 for the momentous occasion. Keep doing what you’re doing in the games, but please upgrade your sneaker game.
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News and Notes
- Joel Embiid was the only starter that didn’t get any love above. He wore he trusty Under Armour HOVR Havoc 2.
- Furkan Korkmaz is still wearing the yellow Nike Zoom Kobe AD 2018 that he’s been playing in since his time with Turkey in the FIBA World Cup.
- James Ennis III wore the Nike Zoom Kobe 4 Protro ‘Black Snake’.
- Allen Iverson, himself, was also in attendance wearing his ‘Double Cross’ sneakers.
Celtics Notes
- Roman Catholic product Brad Wanamaker wore custom Nike PG 3 shouting out his hometown.
- Both Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker wore the Air Jordan XXXIV. I don’t care what anyone says, these are the best signature Jordan’s in years.
- Gordon Hayward laced up his signature sneaker, the GH 1, with Chinese brand ANTA. With all of the issues arising over the past few weeks, it appears that his deal with the company is safe.
- Tacko Fall is massive. Ben Simmons is 6’10” (with shoes on) and he’s looking up to Tacko like he’s a middle schooler looking up at his dad.
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Next game up is Detroit on Saturday. My daughter’s 4th birthday party is Saturday afternoon, so no promises that I’ll be as plugged in as I was on Wednesday night. But as always… stay tuned.
