George's newest shoes are inspired by the NASA research facility in his hometown of Palmdale, Calif.NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Thunder F Paul George's latest signature Nike shoe was unveiled Thursday night, as he wore the "new PG3 shoe in a NASA-inspired colorway" in a loss to the Spurs, according to Erik Horne of the OKLAHOMAN. The shoes' accents are "inspired by the NASA research center in George's hometown of Palmdale, Calif." Inside the "circular traction pattern on the bottom of the shoes are George's birthday, the different numbers he's worn throughout his career and his number of tattoos" (OKLAHOMAN, 1/11). It will be interesting to see if other players wear the George shoe, as ESPN’s Rachel Nichols noted there are “politics of sneakers in the NBA.” For example, no one on the LeBron James-led Cavaliers was "allowed to wear Steph Curry's sneakers." Nichols noted Warriors F Draymond Green has stated that his teammates "can’t wear the shoe of a rival during a game against that rival.” ESPN’s Paul Pierce said that was a "team rule" during his playing career. Pierce: “If you’re rocking the LeBrons and you’re going up against him, he already knows he got you.” ESPN’s Amin Elhassan said, "If the players want to have that rule, that’s cool. But personally, I don’t care” (“The Jump,” ESPN, 1/10).
SWITCHING COURTS: COMPLEX.com's Tim Newcomb reported Celtics G Kyrie Irving and tennis player Nick Kyrgios are "collaborating on a new on-court tennis sneaker" for Nick Kyrgios and a "matching player-edition colorway that Irving will wear as part of his Kyrie 5 line." Irving was set to debut the shoe during the Celtics' win over the Nets on Jan. 7. Kyrgios is lined up to wear the Nike Vapor X Kyrie 5 "throughout the first tennis Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open." The tennis version of the shoe "includes a sockliner with a graphic of a basketball sitting on a tennis racket string bed" (COMPLEX.com, 1/7).
