One of the many NBA taboos restricts a player from wearing his contemporaries’ signature shoes while facing them. Yet, Andrew Nembhard allegedly violated this unwritten rule when squaring off against his idol, Kevin Durant. In a recent turn of events, however, the Indiana Pacers sophomore vehemently denied those claims, adding a twist to this story.
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During his latest appearance on the Run It Back show, Nembhard admitted to being aware of this taboo. He consequently rejected the notion against him outright, stating, “That’s cap… I know the law, I ain’t gonna do that”. Shortly after this, the 24-year-old reiterated himself to downplay those talks further.
.@TeamLou23: “You wore KD’s in your rookie year, against KD… nobody told you the laws? You can’t wear the shoes when you play against him” 😭@AndrewNembhard: “That’s cap… I know the law, I ain’t gonna do that” 😂 pic.twitter.com/PsMUlEwZBS
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) June 14, 2024
The rumors circled Nembhard’s endeavors during his rookie campaign in 2022/23. Out of his admiration for Durant, the Canadian embraced the latter’s Nike shoe line during the majority of his NBA appearances. Consequently, several suspected him of doing the same while facing KD on the court for the first time.
Two years later, the youngster has finally clarified his stance on this matter. Additionally, it remains impossible to point the fingers at him without the presence of any further evidence.
So, Nembhard possibly escaped a bullet on this occasion. However, this situation could have turned out into a much worse one than it eventually became.
The price of not wearing an all-time great’s signature shoes against him
Years ago, DeMar DeRozan, a lifelong Kobe Bryant devotee, had to pay a hefty price because of this unwritten rule. Following Vince Carter’s suggestion, Deboo once refused to wear his usual Kobe Nikes while facing the former Los Angeles Lakers star. Instead, he embraced Michael Jordan’s signature shoes while facing the Black Mamba. Shortly after this, all hell broke loose right in front of his eyes.
Reminiscing about the moment on the Podcast with P, DeRozan mentioned, “I remember wearing some Jordan 10s. We walked out on the court, he looked at me and said, ‘The f**k you got on your feet?’. He shook his head at me. End up killing us… Walking off the court he said, ‘Yeah, don’t wear them shoes ever again'”.
So, it remains tough to predict in which direction the wind may blow while obeying the rule word by word. Yet, NBA players continue to follow it without question, paving the way for a tradition around the league.
