The Best Player Exclusive Sneakers Worn So Far This NBA Season

Earlier this month, Florida A&M University Athletics and Nike agreed to a six-year partnership. As a part of the arrangement, Nike will provide shoes and gear for all athletics while offering internships and networking opportunities for student-athletes. One shoe featured was a special FAMU colorway of the current model from the Nike LeBron series. James wore the PE of the HBCU in a game against the Phoenix Suns in early March.

DeMar DeRozan is known for his admiration of Kobe Bryant and that has shown in his kicks game over the past several years. DeRozan always has on a solid pair of Kobes and that hasn’t changed this season. Averaging 20 points per game for his eighth consecutive season, DeRozan is one of just a few Nike athletes given their own special player exclusive editions of the Kobe 6 Protro line. 

The Phoenix Suns have the second best record in the Western Conference and a big part of the team’s success is derived from their star Devin Booker. The shooting guard made his second All-Star team this season after averaging 25.2 points. He’s known for his history of wearing the Kobe line, and he hasn’t stopped. This PE that looks like the Phoenix sunrise is easily one of the best shoes worn this season.

Inspired by Melo’s passion for wine, Jordan Brand designed a special colorway for the 18-year veteran. With a burgundy color, a grape illustration and cork soles inside the shoe, this might be the cleanest colorway of the Jordan 35 model. The shoes must’ve been good luck since Anthony passed Tim Duncan for 14th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list in this colorway.

When Payton Pritchard left the University of Oregon for the NBA, he must’ve brought a truckload of Oregon PEs with him. Pritchard has worn Oregon players-only editions of the Nike KD 12, Nike PG 4 and Nike Kyrie 7. The former Mighty Duck is making the most of his time in his rookie season. He’s carved out a spot in the Boston Celtics rotation and he’s played well in his first year as a pro.

Curry’s various flavors of his most recent signature release have all been very good. This white and blue colorway is extremely clean and hasn’t been released to the public. Luckily, we’re able to see Curry play in his signature line as he’s dominated this season with 29.3 points per game and has the Warriors back in the playoff race.

The NBA’s GOAT sneakerhead PJ Tucker has arguably one of the best PEs in the NBA. This iteration was influenced by the Nike Air Yeezy 2 “Cheetah,” which resembled the Nike Kobe 7 “Cheetah.” Tucker had a similar styled markup of the Kobe 6 Protro made for himself. Of course, Tucker has the exclusive original Air Yeezy 2 model that is super rare to find. 

Built off of New Orleans’ connection to voodoo dolls and folklore, All-Star Zion Williamson has one of the more unique PEs that we’ve ever seen. Featuring purple and neon accents as well as stitching, the shoe looks nothing like any others we see on an NBA court. It’s too bad that Williamson never got to wear this on Halloween.  

In his first season with the Golden State Warriors, Kelly Oubre has embraced all of the colors with his Converse kicks. We’ve seen mismatched colors and everything else you can find. The best PE has to be this blue wave color. It’s a perfect fit since Oubre goes by the nickname “Wave Papi.”

The Fury Zone silhouette is a laceless, hybrid shoe that combines previous Reebok classics such as the Pump Fury, Kamikaze and Omni Zone. Featured in Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold, the sneakers are perfect for Harrell, who stands out as the rare player in the association wearing Reebok at the moment.

LaMelo Ball has been everything and more in his rookie season. The point guard is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year as he leads all first year players in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals. Ball’s been wearing various silhouettes from Pumas in PE form and he’s also had some customs done by Mache. Hopefully, we get that LaMelo signature shoe ASAP.

One of the bright young stars in the NBA, Luka Doncic signed with Jordan Brand last season and he’s worn some modest colorways of the Jordan 35. This colorway stands out for its unique pop of colors, but also for Doncic it was a part of a memorable moment. He wore this PE when he passed Michael Jordan on the all-time triple-doubles list.

One of our top sneaker free agents at the top of the year, Adebayo recently signed a shoe deal with the Jordan Brand. With Miami using every color—including teal, fuschia, red, black and “championship gold”—in their jersey color schemes, we’re hoping that Adebayo brings the heat on the court. He got off to a good start with a teal PE colorway of the Jordan Elevation.

One of the NBA players showing love to HBCU’s is All-Star Chris Paul. Paul’s teammate Langston Galloway is a big time sneakerhead. Luckily for Galloway, him and Paul wear the same size sneaker. For Black History Month, Galloway wore one of Paul’s exclusives for a game in the colorway of HBCU Southern University. For Galloway, it was the perfect match since Southern University is located in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Fred VanVleet had a whirlwind of a fall when he signed a four-year, $80 million deal with the Toronto Raptors. The point guard topped that off with a new sneaker contract, leaving AND1 for Li-Ning. VanVleet has gotten off to a good start in his new sneakers, wearing a purple and red PE of the Li-Ning Speed 7.