“I am Cool”: Sneaker Free Agent Jaylen Brown Confesses Ditching Air Jordan Kicks for $9.2 Billion Brand’s $130 Product

Most stars in the NBA are signed to a lucrative shoe deal. So when a player’s shoe contract runs up, it’s not unusual for them to test the waters out a little bit before committing to anybody. Jaylen Brown is currently in such a position despite signing the NBA’s richest-ever contract earlier this summer. Growing up in Atlanta, Brown has always been a fan of Air Jordans and has collected many of the brand’s rarest sneakers. But when the Atlanta native went to the University Of California at Berkley to attend college, his preferences changed quickly. To fit into the California culture, Brown ditched his Nikes for Birkenstock slippers and shoes, as revealed in his recent Complex feature. Birkenstock is valued at $9.2 billion and sells its sandals for over $130.

Jaylen Brown has always been known for being a sneakerhead. But after joining Berkley as a student-athlete, Brown changed up his preferences from Jordan to Birkenstock. The Celtics star has since then also openly criticized Nike over “ethics” issues, which has put the sneaker-free agent and the company at a possible impasse.

Jaylen Brown talks transition from Jordans to Birkens

Jaylen Brown recently appeared on Complex’s Sneaker Shopping and stayed for a little interview before going sneaker shopping. While on the show, Brown revealed that he was a huge Jordans fan growing up and even named all the Jordans that he waited outside the mall to get on launch day. Brown told the host, “I had the Olympic 7’s, the Cement 4’s and the Columbia 11’s“.

The 26-year-old star was later asked if the rumors that he traded in his Jordans for Birkenstock during college were true. Brown laughed and answered, “Facts…Growing up in Atlanta, it was all about what you got on, what you wearing, what kind of car you drive, and what kind of jeans you got on, like everyone was wearing True Religion back then. So that was part of the culture.”

“When I went to Berkeley, it was totally different, it was almost like a breath of fresh air. It took me a while to adjust. I would think if I was wearing Jordans, everybody would think I am cool or whatever. But that wasn’t the case. Everyone wore Vans and Birkenstock instead.” The fashion from California is still something we can find Jaylen rocking as a lot of his pre-game outfits are heavily inspired by California streetwear.

Brown avoided embarrassing sneaker moment

Jaylen Brown is known to be among a select few players who rock Nike’s Kobes regularly. He even went as far as getting a pair of his shoes customized with the tag lines “Just do better” and “Was it Naismith?”

Jaylen Brown’s shoes for tonight pic.twitter.com/SSlO6N1Px3

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 21, 2023

The shoes were supposed to be worn during game 3 of the first-round Atlanta series in 2023. But Brown ended up ditching the shoe last moment as the artist who painted the shoe got James Naismith’s name’s spelling wrong, which led to Twitter ridiculing the shoes.