The Grizzlies All-Star is the latest player to receive a signature shoe
Ja Morant has missed plenty of ambitious dunks since entering the NBA. But Nike execs surely smiled when Morant was asked after the recent Indiana Pacers game about the difference in making his latest poster.
“His style of play is the holy grail to jump higher,” said Scott Munson, Nike vice president of global basketball. “Kids and players everywhere want to emulate that.”
With Morant’s star power on the rise, Nike is showing its belief in the explosive 6-foot-2 point guard. The company made Morant its latest signature athlete and the future face of its basketball business by launching the Nike Ja 1 sneaker this spring. Morant is the 23rd NBA player in the swoosh’s 50-year history to receive a namesake model.
“Y’all did it again,” Morant recalled telling his Nike team when it first showed him a Ja 1 sample in his size. It was a black wear-test edition. Morant put the sneakers on immediately, wearing them for six hours straight during an all-day meeting with the brand.
“It’s something I dreamed of and wanted all along,” he said. “Finally, I got it.”
