Grizzlies’ Brooks suspended one game for skirmish STEPPING UP
Inside look at how Ja Morant, Nike designed his first signature shoe
Dillon Brooks will be suspended one game without pay after the Memphis Grizzlies guard struck Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell in the groin Thursday, leading to his ejection.
The NBA announced its decision Friday. Brooks will miss the Grizzlies’ next game Sunday hosting the Toronto Raptors (5 p.m., Bally Sports Southeast). ESPN analyst Bobby Marks tweeted out that Brooks’ suspension will also cost him $78,621.
Mitchell was fined $20,000 for throwing a basketball at Brooks in retaliation and then pushing him before tossing Brooks to the ground, which led to a skirmish. Brooks was assessed a flagrant foul-2, which carries an automatic ejection, and Mitchell was also ejected for his role.
This is the second time in less than a year that Brooks has been suspended. He also missed Game 3 of last year’s Western Conference semifinals after a flagrant foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton II in Game 2.
Brooks’ actions drew a slew of criticism Friday around the sports media landscape. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith came down hard on him by suggesting his play could hurt the Grizzlies’ chances of winning a championship.
“Rather than be physical and get into fights, step your game up, bro, and start balling the way we know you’re capable of doing,” Smith said. “Because Ja Morant deserves better, (coach) Taylor Jenkins deserves better, those teammates of yours deserve better. They’re doing their job. You need to do yours.”
The Grizzlies, who have lost seven of their last eight games, remain in second place in the Western Conference but sit four games behind the Denver Nuggets. They’re also just two games ahead of the third-place Sacramento Kings. “Rather than be physical and get into fights, step your game up, bro, and start balling the way we know you’re capable of doing. Because Ja Morant deserves better, (coach) Taylor Jenkins deserves better, those teammates of yours deserve better. They’re doing their job. You need to do yours.”
Stephen A. Smith
Ja Morant was like a kid getting a new pair of shoes before the first day of school. As the Memphis Grizzlies All-star point guard went into a Nike basketball meeting about his future signature sneaker, he was given an all-black sample shoe to wear just for feel.
The meeting lasted somewhere around six hours, but Morant wore the shoes the entire time while sitting on the couch.
Over an 18-month period, Nike and Morant went through a detailed process to make him Nike basketball’s first Gen Z signature athlete. It all culminated with the reveal of Morant’s first signature shoe on Christmas day. The Ja 1 sneaker will be available to the public at select retail stores and Nike.com in April at a price of $110.
Morant is joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lebron James, Paul George and Kevin Durant as active players currently on Nike Basketball’s signature roster. But the details of Morant’s shoe are specifically tied to his preferences. The three areas in particular are: dynamic lockdown, responsive ride and support for landing.
Dynamic lockdown focuses on allowing athletes to swiftly change directions, responsive ride hammers in on explosion and the support for landing makes note of the raised sidewall guardrail on the shoe that helps support ankles, takeoff and landing on two feet.
“His style of play, it is the holy grail to jump higher,” said Scott Munson, Nike’s global vice president of men’s basketball. “Kids and players everywhere want to emulate that, and to be able to offer a performance solution to do that that’s really accessible ... we’re lucky to partner with him on that.”
Explaining how the Ja 1 came together
Joining Nike was a dream for Morant. He signed with the global brand in May 2019 before becoming the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
“The offers came through, but I told my fam and my agency that Nike was always my choice, so I didn’t really care about any other brand,” Morant said.
That shined through in how Morant approached the development of this shoe. He was involved in every step along the way. That includes branding, messaging, material, marketing, concepts, and colorways.
Nike senior footwear designer Ben Nethongkome initially wanted to get a feel for what Morant wanted in his personal sneaker. Nethongkome started off by asking questions that involved favorite sneaker stories and shoes to play in.
That eventually evolved into analyzing Morant’s basketball film and watching how he cuts and elevates from the floor. The team then put together a design mood board.
“They just made my shoe come to life with what we discussed, what we agreed on and the message we wanted to send,” Morant said.
One underrated part about designing a signature shoe is that it has to be suitable for all age groups to maximize potential. Because of that, Nike tested the shoe on basketball players at all different levels to make sure it is accessible and relevant for all age groups.
“It’s not an easy thing to do to launch a brand new signature shoe and a brand new signature athlete, but Ja has been super helpful,” Nethongkome said. ”He came to the table with concepts. We came to the table with ideas.”
The details behind the logo, shoe
Six days before Morant announced he had a signature shoe on Christmas Day, a picture of him in Nike sweats and a hoodie with an unfamiliar logo made waves around social media. Rumors that it was Morant’s new Nike logo were confirmed on Christmas day.
Like with Morant’s shoes, his logo has a deeper meaning that directly relates to his story.
“We wanted to stylize his name ‘Ja’ in the logo sitting in the chevron shape,” Nethongkome said. “It kind of speaks to his verticality and also how sharp and quick he is on the court and also how he overcomes obstacles.”
The logo also appears on the tongue of Morant’s shoes and the shoebox. It will be part of his future Nike merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatpants and hoodies.
“I hope everybody likes it because I love it,” Morant said of the logo.
What’s next
Morant has already showcased four pairs of his sneakers, but there are more on the way. In his release video, he showcased the Day One sneakers, then he wore the Ja 1 Chimney in the Christmas day game at Golden State. Morant recently introduced the Ja 1 Trivia in a game against the Phoenix Suns. He also wore a PE (player exclusive) version of Day One.
One pair that Morant hasn’t worn yet is the Ja 1 Scratch. This colorway pays homage to the Grizzlies with its red and black accented colors that throwback to the early Grizzlies days.
Each pair has a special meaning and tells a story personal to Morant. The Day One’s have a handwritten note inside to people Morant feels have supported him throughout his entire journey. The Trivia’s will test out how much you know about Morant with questions about his personal life and basketball career. The Chimney pays homage to one of Morant’s most famous quotes, when he said, “We climb up the chimney, we ain’t ducking no smoke” last season.
All of those details are thoughtful and special, but the one that stands out more than the rest for Morant is having his daughter Kaari’s name on the shoe. Morant said his father, Tee, and Kaari were the first people to get pairs of Ja 1s.
“She’s my motivation,” Morant said. “The reason I get up and do what I do each and every day. To have her on my shoe is big time for me.”