What They’re Wearing – Sixers/Celtics Opening Night
Not only did the Sixers lose on the score board, they also lost in the sneaker matchup. The Celtics brought some heat tonight. Unfortunately, at least based on tonight’s offerings, our beloved 76ers look like they may be on the boring side when it comes to their sneaker choices. As someone who plans on writing about the sneakers being worn by the team throughout the season, I’m begging them to do something interesting.
Let’s break down what was on their feet with some news and notes from opening night.
Sixers Starters
Markelle Fultz – Nike LeBron 16
Robert Covington – Nike Zoom Live II
Ben Simmons – Nike Hyperdunk 2017
Dario Šarić – Nike Hyperdunk X Low
Joel Embiid – Under Armour unreleased HOVR model
Joel Embiid
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Embiid stepped out for the first time as an official member of team UA. He signed a massive deal last week which was broken down by here at The Phifth Quarter by JonCarlo DeFeudis. He wore the UA HOVR Havoc mid in the preseason, but the model he had on tonight does not look like it’s been released to the general public. The tooling is similar to the HOVR Havoc, but it looks like a modified upper, potentially created to Joel’s specifications.
Rotation Players
Landry Shamet – Nike Huarache 2k4 “All-Star”
This model was supposed to be the first Kobe signature after he signed with Nike, but they were released in the midst of his legal woes and Nike was reluctant to give him his own shoe until after the trial played out.
Amir Johnson
He’s been wearing Nike Kyrie 4 all pre-season long, but opted for the Air Jordan 32 for this game. Not sure what the reason was for the change, but he may be one of those player who doesn’t like to wear a player’s signature sneaker while playing against them. I could have probably looked up what he wore during last year’s playoff series, but I’d prefer to go with unverified speculation.
———————
Let’s take a look at some highlights of what the Celtics had going on for this game. As mentioned earlier, their on foot offerings were much more exciting than our guys.
Kyrie Irving – Nike Kyrie 4
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Kyrie never disappoints in the sneaker department.
Jaylen Brown – adidas TMAC 3 “All Star”
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Brown showed up in one red and one blue sneaker as a nod to Tracy McGrady in the 2004 All Star Game.
Jason Tatum – Nike PG 2 “Coloring Book”
He designed the colorway himself, because he feels that this is what his 10-month0old son would have designed. I have a 10 month old son myself, and I can confirm he would not be able to design that.
Terry Rozier – Puma Clyde Court Disrupt
I really like what Puma is doing with their re-entry into basketball. They’ll likely be introducing play exclusives in the near future, but putting all of their guys in the bright orange and yellow version to start the season is a great marketing move. It’ll get a lot of “what are those?” comments from casual fans who don’t follow the sneaker news cycle, which is what they should be doing.
Gordon Hayward – Anta
One word describes this model perfectly: white. Hayward joins Klay Thompson as the marquee Anta athletes in the NBA. There were rumors a few weeks ago that New Balance was looking to re-enter basketball a la Puma and were eyeing Hayward to be the face of their basketball division. My guess is Anta backed the Brinks truck up to his house and he couldn’t say no.
———————
Next up is Chicago at home on Thursday followed by Orlando on Saturday. I’ll likely combine those games unless something crazy happens. Stay tuned.
