We knew something had changed with DeMar DeRozan when he laced up the Air Jordan 11 Low White/Red in the Raptors’ first preseason game this year. You see, the former USC Trojan had exclusively rocked the Kobe signature line since he stepped foot into the league at the beginning of the 2009-2010 NBA season. Attention-worthy player exclusives and NikeiD versions of the Kobes IV-VII graced DeMar DeRozan’s feet throughout his first three seasons in the league. Yet, this season, DeMar predetermined to switch his on-court rotation up – at least for the beginning of the year.
“I usually wear Kobes for the entire season, but I wanted to start off the season with something different in the process of me waiting on the Kobe 8s to come in,” said DeRozan. “I just tried to go with old retro Jordans that we haven’t seen on the court in a while.”
And he did just that. In Toronto’s first 15 matchups of the season, DeRozan donned a different pair of Jordans every single game, including a few that haven’t appeared on court in 5+ years. The “Black Cat” 4s, the “Fire Red 5s (red sole) and the Countdown Pack Air Jordan 13 were just a few of the rarely-seen Jordans DeRozan displayed on court this season, which should’ve proved to everybody that this guy is not limited to Kobes.
“I’ve always collected classic Jordans and Nikes and instead of wearing them out with casual clothes, I just decided to bring them to the court this season,” DeRozan stated.
Ultimately, DeRozan reverted back to his reliable Kobes and played the last 18 games of the season in the Kobe 8 System. However, he didn’t lace up just any old Mambas. A total of five Kobe 8 iDs and two Kobe VII iDs were worn during this stretch.
Check out how DeMar DeRozan fared in our five departments of Kicks On Court Champion voting. Plus, get a full recap of everything DeRozan brought to the court this season, including Foams, LeBrons and Pennys.
Air Jordan 1 White/Black-RedTop Element of Surprise Wears:
1. Air Jordan 1 White/Varsity Red-Black
2. Nike Air Foamposite Pro “Gem Green”
3. Air Jordan 13 “Altitude”
4. Nike LeBron X “Christmas”
The first 15 games of the season were considered surprises in regards to DeRozan’s kicks on court. We hadn’t seen him consistently wear Jordans since his summer league days in 2009. He gained a great amount of Element of Surprise points when he rocked the Air Jordan 1 White/Varsity Red-Black. MJ’s first signature shoe is probably the least worn Jordan on court today, assumably because of its lack of technology. Therefore, when DeRozan took to the court in these just a month after its re-release to the public, it was definitely a shocker.
