NBA players have an unwritten rule about wearing signature sneakers. Minnesota Timberwolves’ Jordan McLaughlin and retired NBA star Lou Williams explained it in the latest episode of the Run It Back podcast while discussing the guard’s affinity for wearing Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving‘s signature Nike shoes. When podcast co-host Michelle Beadle asked the Timberwolves guard whether he wore them when Minnesota played against Dallas, he responded,
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“Nah. Uh-uh. You can’t do that. It’s an unwritten rule. Whenever you play somebody that got a signature shoe, you gotta switch it up.”
Although Irving is no longer a Nike athlete and has switched to Anta, McLaughlin continues wearing his signature Nike shoes except when he plays against the superstar guard. Per Kixstats, he switched to Los Angeles Clippers superstar Paul George’s signature shoe Nike PG 6 when the Timberwolves played against the Mavericks.
Co-host and retired NBA star Chandler Parsons asked whether players followed the unwritten rule when they faced off against icons like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Williams responded with an affirmative and said,
“DeMar DeRozan religiously wore Kobe’s, and when we played the Lakers, he would wear something else.”
In an interview with the Athletic, Miami Heat star Kevin used Kobe Bryant’s words to explain the reason behind the unwritten rule of not wearing another player’s signature shoe when playing against them. He said,
“Like Kobe used to say, ‘If somebody wore my shoe and I was playing against them, I knew I had them.’”
The rule exists to ensure that a superstar player doesn’t gain a mental edge over their opponents and is given the message that they are nothing more than a peer in that contest.
DeMar DeRozan’s hilarious Kobe Bryant sneaker story
Not wearing an opponent’s shoe when playing against them is a common rule that most NBA players follow. However, it backfired spectacularly on DeMar DeRozan when he did it against Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant.
During an appearance on Podcast P, DeRozan revealed that in a game during his Toronto Raptors days, Vince Carter flamed him for wearing Bryant’s signature shoe in a game, prompting him to wear Jordan 10s when he played against the Lakers. The five-time NBA champion saw DeRozan’s shoes and things went south for the then-Raptors star. He recalled,
“He looked at me and said, ‘The f**k you got on your feet’. He shook his head at me…Walking off the court he says ‘Don’t wear them s***s ever again.’”
While DeRozan did the right thing by ditching Bryant’s shoes when playing against the Lakers great, he made the fatal mistake of wearing Jordans against him, and his team paid a heavy price for it.
