Funny Pictures Lamelo Ball Swaggy Melo
In the 75-yr history of the NBA, fewer than 85 players take earned the distinction of receiving a signature sneaker.
LaMelo Ball, the 20-year-old point guard for the Charlotte Hornets and reigning rookie of the year, became the latest to join that exclusive society during the showtime week of the 2021-22 NBA season. In Charlotte's opening game against the Indiana Pacers, Ball debuted his first signature shoe, the Puma MB.01, while scoring 31 points, including a career-loftier seven 3-pointers, forth with 9 rebounds and vii assists.
Puma'south first signature athlete since the make returned to basketball in 2018, Ball didn't disappoint during his starting time official game wearing the MB.01. In the Hornets' 123-122 win, Ball became the youngest player in league history to start a season with a performance of 30-plus points, five-plus assists and five-plus rebounds. In the third quarter, Ball even received "1000-5-P!" chants from the home crowd as he toed the free throw line in the bright orange-red colorway of his sneaker.
Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
"Information technology felt corking," Ball told The Undefeated subsequently his beginning game in the Puma MB.01. "You gotta honey wearing your own stuff, your own hoop shoes. Blessings."
There'south no question that Brawl had one of the most exciting debuts of a first signature sneaker. From Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Trae Young, hither's a look at where his operation falls among the 15 best showtime signature debuts in NBA history.
Michael Hashemite kingdom of jordan
Game: November. 17, 1984 — Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Shoe: "Chicago" Air Jordan 1
Stat line: xvi points (4-for-17), 7 assists, v rebounds, 5 steals in 109-100 Bulls loss
Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
In his NBA regular-season debut on October. 26, 1984, Jordan took the court for the Bulls wearing the Nike Air Ship — not his first signature shoe, the Air Jordan i. Information technology was actually the Air Send that led to the infamous policing of Jordan's footwear during his first season in the league. Citing a particular preseason game during which Jordan was photographed wearing the Air Ship, an NBA executive vice president sent a cease-and-desist letter of the alphabet to the company based in Beaverton, Oregon, that officially barred Jordan from lacing up "certain ruby-red and black Nike basketball shoes."
Nike responded by marketing his Air Hashemite kingdom of jordan ane, not the Air Ship, to consumers as the sneaker the NBA "banned." However, equally detailed by longtime sneaker enthusiast Nick Engvall in a 2015 sneakerhistory.com story, Jordan didn't debut his signature shoe for the get-go fourth dimension until 11 games into his rookie season. On Nov. 17, 1984, against the 76ers, the Bulls' so-21-yr-old shooting guard unveiled the "Chicago" Air Jordan 1, scoring 16 points with seven assists, 5 rebounds and five steals. Following the debut, according to Engvall, Jordan played solely in the Air Send until tardily December, after which he went to the Air Hashemite kingdom of jordan i full fourth dimension in the lead-up to the shoe's March 1985 retail release.
Shaquille O'Neal
Game: Nov. 6, 1992 — Orlando Magic vs. Miami Rut
Shoe: Reebok Shaq Attaq 1
Stat line: 12 points (4-for-8), 18 rebounds, iii blocks in 110-100 Magic win
Two weeks before the Magic selected the xx-year-sometime O'Neal with the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NBA draft, his agent, Leonard Armato, denied reports that the 7-foot-ane center out of Louisiana Country University had signed a footwear and clothes deal with LA Gear. Instead, O'Neal decided to roll with Reebok in a multiyear bargain worth $three 1000000 annually after the sportswear company based in Stoughton, Massachusetts, won a behest war with Nike. The partnership made the big human the headliner of Reebok's popular Pump technology and guaranteed his signature "Shaq Attaq" line.
Wearing a size 23, O'Neal debuted the Shaq Attaq ane in his kickoff NBA game, making him just the 4th rookie in league history to receive a signature shoe during his rookie season. He scored 12 points and grabbed eighteen rebounds in the shoe crafted by footwear designer Judy Close. Reebok promoted the Shaq Attaq throughout the 1992-93 season with a $twenty million advertizement campaign, highlighted past a commercial that aired during Super Basin XXVII that was co-written past O'Neal as he starred with old NBA centers Wilt Chamberlain, Nib Russell, Neb Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Penny Hardaway
Game: Nov. 3, 1995 — Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1
Stat line: 28 points (10-for-17), eight assists, five rebounds in 99-88 Magic win
RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images
In Hardaway's mind, he played his way into a signature sneaker during his second year in the NBA. That 1994-95 flavor, the silky polish 6-foot-7 point baby-sit for the Magic emerged every bit a first-team All-NBA selection with averages of twenty.9 points (on 51.two% shooting from the field), seven.2 assists and four.4 rebounds a game. Throughout his prolific sophomore campaign, Hardaway laced up two Nike models — the Air Up and Flight One — before the swoosh decided he was deserving of a signature silhouette. "Nike was like, 'You lot know what, it's time to get your own shoe,' " Hardaway told Nick DePaula in 2008. " 'You've get a large enough name, and yous've actually earned information technology.' " The night of the Magic's 1995-96 regular-season opener, Hardaway dropped 28 points in the Nike Air Max Penny i. His debut shoe introduced the "i Cent" branding that's get one of the well-nigh recognizable signature logos in history.
Allen Iverson
Game: Nov. one, 1996 — Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Shoe: Reebok Question
Stat line: xxx points (12-for-19), half-dozen assists in 111-103 Sixers loss
You've certainly seen the footage from March 1997 of a so-21-year-former rookie Iverson crossing up the greatest of all time, Jordan. On Iverson's feet was a white, ruby-red and navy pair of the Reebok Question — the futurity Hall of Famer's outset signature shoe that kicked off what has since transformed into a lifetime partnership with the company. In June 1996, Iverson signed an unprecedented 10-year, $50 meg contract with Reebok before he or the brand even knew where his NBA career would brainstorm. "I deserve to be No. 1," said Iverson the night earlier the typhoon, while wearing a gold Rolex and a Reebok lapel pivot.
The 76ers selected the vi-foot, 165-pound signal baby-sit from Georgetown University with the top pick, making him Reebok'south second No. 1 overall signee in five years after O'Neal in 1992. Iverson made his NBA debut on Nov. i, 1996, with a 30-signal performance in his signature Reebok Question — a clever play off his nickname "The Reply," which is tattooed on his left bicep. The Question has since get the well-nigh re-released basketball shoe in Reebok history.
Kobe Bryant
Game: Oct. 31, 1997 — Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz
Shoe: Adidas KB8
Stat line: 23 points (5-for-xiii), 5 assists in 104-87 Lakers win
Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images
Game: December. 25, 2005 — Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Oestrus
Shoe: Nike Zoom Kobe 1
Stat line: 37 points (12-for-thirty), 8 rebounds, half dozen assists in 97-92 Lakers loss
Victor Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
One of the legacies of the tardily Bryant is the mark he made in sneaker history with signature lines for two different companies. He endorsed Adidas for six seasons before joining Nike in 2003 and repping the swoosh for the rest of his NBA career. While Bryant'south debut performances in his first signature for both Adidas and Nike were impressive, true to Mamba Mentality, of course he outdid himself the 2nd time effectually. During a game against the Jazz on Oct. 31, 1997, Bryant, and so xix, launched the Adidas KB8 with 23 points and five assists in 33 minutes off the bench. On Christmas Solar day in 2005, Bryant launched the Nike Zoom Kobe 1 past dropping 37 points, eight rebounds and vi assists on the Oestrus. It's worth noting that in late January 2006, less than a month later on he debuted the shoe, Bryant delivered a career-high 81 points in the Nike Zoom Kobe 1.
LeBron James
Game: October. 29, 2003 — Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Sacramento Kings
Shoe: Nike Air Zoom Generation
Stat line: 25 points (12-for-20), 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals in 106-92 Cavaliers loss
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
No player in NBA history had a more anticipated rookie debut than the xviii-year-old James. In May 2003, a month before the Cavaliers selected him with the No. ane pick in the NBA typhoon, James signed a vii-year, $90 million contract with Nike, which is nevertheless the richest NBA rookie sneaker deal. Ahead of his career-coronating game confronting the Kings on Oct. 29, 2003, Nike released the "Pressure level" commercial, featuring James in his first signature sneaker, the Nike Air Zoom Generation, congenital past the design team of Tinker Hatfield, Eric Avar and Aaron Cooper. Come up prime time at ARCO Arena, James was dazzling with the Zoom Generations on his anxiety. He scored 25 points, on an efficient 12-for-20 shooting from the field, with nine assists, six rebounds and 4 steals. He likewise threw down his outset career douse on a steal and breakaway that yielded an action shot belonging in a museum. James went on to finish his countdown NBA season wearing the Zoom Generations equally the first rookie since Jordan to average at to the lowest degree 20 points, five assists and five rebounds a game.
Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
Dwyane Wade
Game: Nov. 2, 2005 — Miami Heat vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Shoe: Antipodal Wade i
Stat line: 23 points (9-for-xviii), ten rebounds, vi assists, ii steals, 2 blocks in 97-78 Heat win
Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
Game: April 18, 2011 — Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Shoe: Jordan Fly Wade ane
Stat line: 14 points (4-for-xi FG), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, two steals, ane block in 94-73 Heat win during beginning round of NBA playoffs
Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
Game: Oct. 30, 2012 — Miami Estrus vs. Boston Celtics
Shoe: Li-Ning Way of Wade 1
Stat line: 29 points (ten-for-22), iv assists, 2 steals in 120-107 Heat win
Garrett Due west. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
The three-fourth dimension champion Wade is a part of an sectional club of NBA players who received sneakers from 3 brands during their careers. The other members are Chris Webber (Nike, FILA, Dada) and Kevin Garnett (Nike, AND1, Adidas, Anta). That means Wade experienced iii signature debuts — and he balled out in each 1 of them. On opening night of the Heat'southward championship 2005-06 season, the half-dozen-pes-4 shooting guard produced a stat sheet-stuffing performance with 23 points, x rebounds, six assists, 2 steals and two blocks in the Converse Wade one. Past April 2011, after he switched from Antipodal to the Jordan Make, Wade overcame migraine headaches in a get-go-circular playoff serial to play in the Hashemite kingdom of jordan Fly Wade 1 for the first fourth dimension with a solid 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. The most Wade scored in a signature debut was 29 points, while wearing the Li-Ning Mode of Wade 1 in 2012, when his partnership with the Chinese footwear visitor began. Now retired, the future Hall of Famer received eight more Way of Wade signature models and signed a lifetime deal with Li-Ning.
Derrick Rose
Game: Oct. 27, 2010 — Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Shoe: Adidas AdiZero Rose 1
Stat line: 28 points (12-for-31), vi assists, 4 rebounds in 106-95 Bulls loss
Larry W. Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
The timing of the inflow of Rose'southward first signature shoe couldn't have been more than perfect. Two years after entering the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick of his hometown Bulls, Rose began his third flavour by unveiling the Adidas adiZero Rose 1 on opening night in 2010. He scored 28 points in the shoe'south debut, and by May 2011 that flavour, he became the youngest player in league history to be named MVP, at age 22. "When you have a signature shoe, information technology boosts your confidence a lilliputian bit more than," Rose told ESPN in 2019. "When you're out there, it gives yous a little scrap more swag. Dorsum then, I just couldn't believe it." With 11 Adidas models to his proper name, Rose is one of viii players in league history, along with Jordan, Bryant, James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Iverson and Kevin Durant, to receive at least ten consecutive signature shoes.
Kyrie Irving
Game: Dec. 4, 2014 — Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks
Shoe: Nike Kyrie 1
Stat line: 37 points (12-for-eighteen) in 90-87 Cavs win
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Irving caught the brawl near half courtroom and sized upwardly his defender. He dribbled left, so right, then left over again, driving to the handbasket and lifting a layup high off the glass at Madison Square Garden with x seconds left in the game. The go-ahead bucket in a matchup with the Knicks on December. 4, 2014, sealed a win for the Cavaliers and capped off Irving's debut functioning in the Nike Kyrie 1 with 37 points.
Stephen Curry
Game: January. 9, 2015 — Aureate State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Shoe: Under Armour Curry I
Stat line: 23 points (8-for-xv), x assists, two steals in 112-94 Warriors win
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Later on wearing swooshes on his feet for the commencement 4 years of his career, Curry took what many considered a huge gamble by leaving Nike to join Under Armour in October 2013. A signature line wasn't in the plan for Curry at Nike, but Under Armour delivered. And past Jan. 9, 2015, at Oracle Loonshit in Oakland, California, the Warriors point guard debuted the Under Armour Curry One with 23 points and ten assists. "Information technology'due south a dream come true," said Curry that night. "At that place's a long line of players who have had a signature shoe before, obviously all different brands. But to bring the Curry One to life with Under Armour is something I've been looking frontwards to." Later on in that 2014-15 flavour, Curry was named league MVP and led Aureate State to the franchise's first title in 40 years. He's at present on his 9th signature model and the face of his own Back-scratch Brand at Under Armour.
James Harden
Game: October. 26, 2016 — Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Shoe: Adidas Harden Vol. 1
Stat line: 34 points (9-for-19), 17 assists, eight rebounds in 120-114 Rockets loss
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
On Oct. 1, 2015, Harden's 13-year, $200 meg footwear and wearing apparel deal with Adidas officially began, after Nike, the brand Harden endorsed for the outset 6 years of his career, declined to match the massive offer. Adidas historic the moment — and its new signature athlete — by sending a truck full of sneakers with the tagline "The Await Is Over" in bold ruddy type, to Harden's habitation ahead of the 2015-16 NBA season. A year later, at a VIP launch event in Houston featuring performances past rappers Travis Scott, Nipsey Hussle and YG, the NBA star, then with the Rockets, unveiled his first signature, the Adidas Harden Vol. 1. During an interview session that night, a member of the media asked Harden if he thought he had the all-time sneaker in the league. "I retrieve I do," Harden said. "I'm extremely excited well-nigh it. Everything I practise is swaggy, you know." Harden backed up his words when he stepped foot on the court for the first fourth dimension in the Vol. 1s for Houston's opener of the 2016-17 flavour. Playing against the Lakers at Staples Center in his hometown of Los Angeles, Harden flirted with a triple-double, scoring 34 points with 17 assists and seven rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Game: Sept. 1, 2019 — Greece vs. Montenegro in first round of FIBA Basketball World Cup
Shoe: Nike Zoom Freak 1
Stat line: 10 points (4-for-9), 8 rebounds, ii steals in 85-60 Greece win
WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images
Game: NBA debut, Oct. 24, 2019 — Milwaukee Bucks vs. Houston Rockets
Shoe: Nike Zoom Freak 1
Stat line: 30 points (11-for-17), 13 rebounds, 11 assists in 117-111 Bucks win
Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images
It was only right that Antetokounmpo, born to Nigerian immigrants and raised in Athens, Hellenic republic, unveiled his first signature sneaker on the global stage. The same week the "Greek Freak" was named the 2019 NBA MVP, Nike announced Antetokounmpo as the first international basketball player to receive his own shoe in brand history. "I wanted my shoe to basically introduce me and my family to the world," Antetokounmpo told The Undefeated at the Athens launch of the Nike Zoom Freak i. A few months afterwards, he took the court in the Freak 1 for the first fourth dimension at the FIBA Basketball Globe Cup in Prc during Greece'due south opener against Montenegro. Antetokounmpo merely played 16 minutes, scoring 10 points and grabbing 8 rebounds, in the sneaker'southward World Cup debut. In his first NBA game wearing the Freak i, he notched a thirty-signal, thirteen-rebound and 11-assistance triple-double.
Zion Williamson
Game: April 20 — New Orleans Pelicans vs. Brooklyn Nets
Shoe: Jordan Zion one
Stat line: 33 points (14-for-19), seven rebounds, 4 assists in 134-129 Pelicans loss
Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images
In 2019, Williamson emerged as the most highly touted NBA prospect since James. That meant he as well became the most sought-after rookie by footwear companies in more than 15 years. Later the Pelicans selected him with the No. 1 overall pick, Williamson signed a five-year, $75 meg endorsement deal to join the Hashemite kingdom of jordan Brand. The partnership would ultimately make Williamson the seventh histrion since Jordan to receive a Jordan signature — and the first Generation Z (born after 1996) athlete to receive a shoe. "The opportunity to have the Jordan Brand requite me a signature shoe was something I feel similar I couldn't turn down on," a 20-yr-old Williamson told The Undefeated in April, before the declaration of the Hashemite kingdom of jordan Zion ane.
When he laced up his shoe for the showtime fourth dimension against the Nets, the Pelicans star dominated with 33 points, on 74% shooting from the field, with seven rebounds and 4 assists. No histrion in Jordan history — from Russell Westbrook (20 points in the Why Not Zer0.1 in 2018) to Paul (16 points in the CP3.I in 2008) to Anthony (twenty points in the Melo 1.5 in 2004) and even Jordan (16 points in the Air Jordan ane in 1984) — scored more than points in his signature debut than Williamson.
Trae Immature
Game: May 23 — Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks
Shoe: Adidas Trae Young i
Stat line: 32 points (eleven-for-23), 10 assists, 7 rebounds in 107-105 Hawks win during first round of playoffs
Seth Wenig/Puddle/Getty Images
Young couldn't wait to debut his showtime signature sneaker — and so he didn't. The Adidas Trae Young i wasn't ready to release until Oct. Simply after the Hawks made the 2021 NBA postseason as the fifth-seeded team in the Eastern Briefing, the All-Star point guard decided to lace it up ahead of schedule. "I just wanted to be able to play my start playoffs in my own shoe," said the then-22-yr-one-time Young, who bankrupt out the shoe for Game i of Atlanta's opening-round series confronting the fourth-seeded Knicks. On the hardwood at Madison Square Garden in the Trae Young ane, he scored 32 points, including a game-winning floater with 0.9 seconds left to elevator the Hawks to a 107-105 win. Of all the debuts of a histrion's first signature, Young's operation was certainly the virtually clutch. He went on to average 28.8 points and 9.5 assists in sixteen games during the 2021 NBA playoffs, all while wearing the Adidas Trae Young one.
LaMelo Brawl
Game: October. twenty — Charlotte Hornets vs. Indiana Pacers
Shoe: Puma MB.01
Stat line: 31 points (xi-for-23), nine rebounds, 7 assists in 123-122 Hornets win
Grant Halverson/Getty Images
Iv years ago, before the Puma MB.01, Ball launched a signature shoe called the "MB1" at the age of 16 nether his family's Big Baller Make. Ball teamed up with SLAM magazine for a hilarious commercial to promote the shoe. And his older blood brother, Lonzo, had a rap song called "Melo Ball one." But there isn't whatsoever tape of Ball lacing upwards his BBB signature in a game. Alee of the 2020 NBA draft, when the Hornets selected him with the No. 3 pick, Ball signed a multiyear deal with Puma to become the face of the visitor in basketball game. Puma began teasing Ball's signature shoe on social media in July, earlier he was spotted wearing a pair for the start fourth dimension while sitting courtside at NBA summer league a calendar month later.
By mid-October, the make officially announced the MB.01, making Ball the 4th signature basketball athlete in Puma history, afterward Walt Frazier (1973), Ralph Sampson (1983) and Vince Carter (1999). "I alive by the motto, 'One of I,' which means I am non like everyone else," Ball said in a statement. "I stand out as being different and I'chiliad 100% myself. The motto was actually the inspiration behind the MB.01. I wanted to create a different kind of sneaker. Ane that is 'Not From Here' with a unique blueprint, vivid colors and the best technology for a ameliorate on-court performance." With 31 points, vii 3s and a win in Charlotte's season opener, Ball couldn't take fifty-fifty imagined a better commencement game in his Puma MB.01.
Source: https://andscape.com/features/lamelo-ball-and-the-best-debut-performances-in-a-first-signature-sneaker/
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