NBA Sneakerheads are always debating shoe designs, performance, and durability. Meanwhile, known sneaker lover Shaquille O’Neal recently took to his Instagram to settle an ongoing debate. He decided to ask NBA fans which shoe logo was their favorite. In his recent Instagram story, a text inquired, “Best NBA Signature Shoe Logo?”
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Under the question, fans were asked to choose one logo amongst a list of logos from the NBA’s most popular shoe lines, inspired by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Derrick Rose, Shaquille O’Neal, Victor Wembanyama, and Stephen Curry. There was a question mark for any other logos fans may think deserve a mention. This question first stemmed from Nike unveiling Wemby’s shoe line’s logo, which resembled an Alien.
Last year, LeBron James referred to the French sensation as “The Alien”, a nickname that the latter adopted immediately. The newly unveiled logo has garnered significant praise from sneakerheads for its well-executed design. Thus, Shaq had to jump in on the fun. The link in the story posted by him redirected to the official page of NBA on ESPN, who posted the original question.
For most fans, the best logo seemed to be Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” and it’s not even close. One commenter wrote, “the real question is who’s 2nd after jordan”. Amidst the “Jumpman” superiority, someone pointed out the sleek nature of Rose’s logo. The user stated, “Drose logo underrated”. Apart from that, a fan wasn’t feeling it with the logos of both Wemby and ANT. The Insta user commented, “Wemby and Ant competing for the worst logo in history.”
Additionally, fans were divided on whether Shaq’s “Dunkman” logo was “underrated” or “overrated”. Shaq had followed in the footsteps of Jordan to put his stamp on this iconic logo.
The unparalleled influence of Michael Jordan
While MJ built his brand around the Jumpman logo in conjunction with Nike after he had entered the league, O’Neal had begun his work much earlier. He had trademarked his logo during his college days. Like Jordan trademarked his celebrated leaping ability through the Jumpman silhouette, Shaq wanted to have a unique silhouette of his dominant ways. While Jordan’s logo is owned by Nike, Shaquille O’Neal can freely use his Dunkman logo(because it’s trademarked by him), which has helped him build a unique brand name.
The decision to own the logo came when during one of his marketing classes, Shaq’s professor claimed that “big men can’t sell”. With a chip on his shoulder, the big fella decided to showcase to the world that big men can indeed sell. Not only did he leave his imprint through his logo, but he also kept the price tags of his shoes affordable.
