Jordan Brand announced on Twitter last Friday a new and exciting collaboration with Naruto and NBA player Zion Williamson. The official Twitter for Jordan also released a teaser video on Tuesday showcasing the collection.
Williamson also made a statement on Tuesday after receiving a hand-drawn portrait from the creator of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto himself!
The upcoming collection will be released in a few weeks, according to HYPEBEAST. The apparel is set to be released to go with the Zion 1s as well. Each pair from the collection will cost $130 while apparel pricing has yet to be announced.
To me, it’s an interesting window into the interests of Zion Williamson and other younger NBA players. We’ve seen anime references in custom sneakers and even shoutouts at times during games from players like De’Aaron Fox, but rarely do we get a design directly paying homage to a series. It’s pretty cool to see — especially with it being Naruto. The Six Paths choice here is a solid look.
Michael D. Sykes (@MikeDSykes)
Writer for “ForTheWin” of USA Today, Founder of “The Kicks You Wear”
The collab with Zion Williamson and Jordan comes not long after the widely popular game, Fortnite, also announced its collaboration with Naruto. This seems to be just the beginning of western brands collaborating with anime series. Jujutsu Kaisen and PUBG Mobile announced a collaboration back in February of this year. Vans released a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure sneaker collection back in 2019 while Skechers has been releasing One Piece sneakers for a few years now. With many younger athletes that are big fans of anime, more collaborations will undoubtedly be on the way.
Sources: HYPEBEAST, Jordan Brand Official Twitter, Nike
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