5. What is the effect of another player debuting an active signature player’s shoe (think Nick Young debuting the Kobe 9)?
Pollakoff: I think it was smart. Bryant wouldn’t be able to debut them himself before the initial release date due to his injured status, so it made sense to have a teammate do it instead. Nick Young is known for breaking out unique editions to play in, so he was a perfect choice. It was important to get those on the court before the actual release, so it was a great decision, albeit an unusual one due to the circumstances.
Schwadron: First of all, I want to know what that conversation was like between Kobe and Swaggy P when they decided that Nick would be the first to rock the Kobe 9. Imagine being a fly on the wall for that. Ha! I don’t think, in this case, Nick wearing Kobe’s kicks for the first time has any more negative effect than Kobe’s injury did in the first place. Not unlike with DRose, injuries are a part of the game—basketball and sneakers. Eventually, Kobe will lace up the 9s and that’ll be a big moment. But plenty of guys wear LeBrons, Kobes and KDs and I’m not sure the timing of “who wore it first” has any deeper an effect (at least in retail) than a personal nod to his teammate. If anything, in the case of the Kobe 9, it just proves how far Nick Young has taken his personal brand just by earning a rep as a sneakerhead—Nick Young’s name is just as well-known to kids as some NBA All-Stars, just off the strength of his shoe obsession. Crazy.
Holdahl: I think it definitely takes some of the excitement out of the release, though the Kobe 9s seem to be doing just fine, at least in limited release, from a sales perspective. It’s a delicate balance, as my good friends at adidas could tell you, when it comes to promoting a signature line while said player is injured. You don’t want to disassociate the line from the player, but at the end of the day, that product have to be moved, and actually seeing the sneaker on court is a good way to do that, even if it’s not on the feet of the player whose signature is on the shoe.
Kiel: It’s great depending on who the ‘other’ player is, and in the case of the Kobe 9, I think it was a tremendous move. A considerable amount of people that follow what players wear on court pay attention to Nick Young’s footwear just as much, if not more, than any signature athlete in the NBA. The effect of a wild card like Nick Young debuting Kobe Bryant’s new shoe brought a whole new level of excitement to the Kobe 9 launch.
Cason: I don’t think there’s any true effect overall besides guys like us talking about it. For Nike, it’s great to just get the shoe on court until Kobe is ready to return. For Nick Young, it’s a very big deal as he idolizes Kobe and has kind of took on a similar role with the Lakers with Kobe being out most of the season.
DePaula: It’s definitely not ideal. With both Kobe and D Rose going down, we’ve seen Nick Young debut the 9 and Jeff Teague debut the Rose 4.5. I’ve gotta go all the way back to when Daniel Ewing was the first to break out the Air Jordan XX1 to find a less ideal on-court unveiling for shoes that mean so much to both categories.
