Jalen Brunson Straight Up Refuses Nike Signature Shoe So That He Can Honor Kobe Bryant

Every young basketball player dreams of making the NBA and the business opportunities that follow. More specifically, everybody wants a signature sneaker with apparel brands such as Nike and Adidas. New York Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson is one of the few players who have enough notoriety to deserve such an honor. However, Brunson surprisingly isn’t that eager to create his own sneaker.

Ever since Brunson joined the Knicks, he has elevated his play to an All-Star and even All-NBA level. In four seasons, Brunson is averaging 26.6 points and 6.6 assists on 48.4% shooting from the field. More impressively, he has coupled his individual success with team success. Brunson’s heroics have pushed New York into a perennial Eastern Conference contender.

Taking all of this into consideration, along with the fact that he is the best player in New York, the Mecca of basketball, it only makes sense for him to earn a signature shoe. After all, plenty of other stars around his age like Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and Giannis Antetokounmpo have launched signature sneaker lines.

Believe it or not, even players such as Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell have a signature shoe. It’s about time Brunson joins the fold. As a matter of fact, it turns out those discussions have already happened.

“The discussion recently has been if Jalen would have his own signature shoe with Nike,” Riccardo Mestre said in a sneaker panel with The Grindhouse Inc. “Internally the discussions have gone on and it’s gotten to the point now where Jalen has pretty much said, ‘I refuse, I don’t want a signature. Just let me wear Kobe’s for the rest of my career.'”

 

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Brunson has been a Nike athlete for quite some time. The two-time All-NBA guard can be seen wearing a pair of Kobes every game. Bryant’s sneaker line is by far Brunson’s go-to. Mestre revealed Brunson’s love for Kobe’s signature shoes is so strong that he doesn’t feel the need to create his own.

Although Brunson has worn many variants of Kobe’s, his main model is the Kobe 6. He has become quite iconic with the popular low-top sneaker. Brunson and Nike even released a special ‘Statue of Liberty’ PE design, which has become one of the hottest commodities on the sneaker market.

Typically, the money alone would convince a player to pursue a signature shoe. It’s a rough estimate, but Brunson will most likely miss out on potentially six figures without his own shoe line. However, money is the least of Brunson’s worries. After all, he did take a massive pay cut to ensure the Knicks had enough money to keep their core together.

It’s refreshing to see a player take a different path than the traditional one. Brunson will look to continue along that path while hopefully leading the Knicks to another deep postseason run. If we’re lucky, that may potentially lead to another Brunson exclusive Kobe 6 colorway.