Shai Gilgeous-Alexander keeps the relative close with unfaltering Converse SHAI 001 pack– Andscape

This year could not have actually been scripted a whole lot a lot more perfectly for NBA super star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The 27 -year-old factor gamer taped the NBA acquiring title, balancing 32 7 aspects per computer game throughout the 2024 – 25 regular period. That was prior to being called the organization MVP and, at some point, the NBA Finals MVP after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the franchise service’s preliminary champion.

SGA did it all while tied in his releasing trademark tennis shoe, the Reverse SHAI 001, which officially struck retail in really early September, leading with the form’s distinct yellow “BUTTER” colorway.

Today, the shoes appears in 3 fresh colorways, affected by his partner, Hailey, his even more vibrant brother or sister, Thomasi, and his mommy,Charmaine

After placing on all 3 variants of the SHAI 001 on his historic go with the 2025 NBA playoffs, SGA’s “FAMILY MEMBERS” pack launches globally for $ 130 a set, stressing an actively taken care of and just as serendipitous perennial rollout of his preliminary shoes.

“The SHAI 001 is a canvas for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s tale,” reviews the opening line of the collection’s press release, offering the new variations of the shoes, called “HAIL STORM CLAY,” “MASI BLUE” and “BEAUTY BLACK.”

On Sept 4– various hours after the “BUTTER” SHAI 001 initially went down, and marketed out on Converse’s web site within mins– SGA made a look on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to share the easy, yet real, narrative behind the triad of colorways that memorialize individuals closest to him.

“This is my partner’s eye color. This is my bro’s preferred shade. And my mother’s whole wardrobe is black, like pitch black, and I’m not kidding,” declared Gilgeous-Alexander on The Tonight Program

In February, the Boston- based subsidiary brand name of Nike formally revealed the SHAI 001, which Gilgeous-Alexander debuted on and off court throughout the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend Less than a year had really passed considered that SGA approved a multiyear agreement growth with Converse in April 2024, after initially becoming the brand-new face of basketball’s earliest shoes trademark name in 2020

The restored cooperation raised Gilgeous-Alexander to the unrivaled obligation of innovative director of Converse Basketball, providing him complete control over the design procedure of his launching hallmark shoes, which dramatically started with his private image of the concept for the shape.

Together, Converse and SGA prepared the SHAI 001, crafting an advanced unibody mold and mildew and mold, including a puffed top and winged darkness that secures down with a zipper. Distinctly, SGA’s very first hallmark shape supplied a single appearance, as soon as possible splitting itself from practically every various other existing trademark basketball shoes that can be located in a various colored design

“Shoutout the Converse group for carrying out, ’cause the shoe looks way far better than the illustration,” Gilgeous-Alexander informedFallon

Throughout an unique media rundown in advance of the shoes’s preliminary February statement, one press reporter ended up a group conference with Gilgeous-Alexander by asking if he had any type of type of information plan for separating the colorways of the Reverse SHAI 001

“You’ll need to stay tuned and see carefully. You’ll obtain your responses soon enough,” specified Gilgeous-Alexander with a big smile.

Following All-Star Weekend break, Gilgeous-Alexander particularly tied up his style’s lead colorway, aka the SHAI BUTTER, for the second fifty percent of the 2024 – 25 typical period. While preserving the following colorways for the SHAI 001 near to the vest, SGA likewise kept family members– and buddies– enclose mind for a masterplan to proceed offering his tennis shoes.

On March 31, extremely celebrity rap artist Drake went down a video for his blockbuster track, “Nokia,” including his homie and other Ontario, Canada, native, Gilgeous-Alexander At the 2: 37 mark of the track’s black-and-white visuals, SGA shows up with a collection of singular shoes, dramatically in 5 various tones, hanging from his neck by their shoe laces.

According to a Converse associate, the cameo of the SHAI 001 in the “Nokia” video was SGA’s concept, which appeared from his private link with Drake, that likewise helped Phoenix Suns celebrity Devin Booker present his launching trademark shoes, the Nike Book 1, in 2023

Reverse guaranteed that Gilgeous-Alexander gotten really early collections of the SHAI 001 in every colorway for him to place on and take advantage of as he picked. Behind the scenes, the trademark name established a main advertising method for the family pack.

The three-second stretch of SGA with his SHAI 001 s in the “Nokia” video clip– fittingly tracked to the verses,” Take a picture for the ‘Gram, show the entire globe”– functions as a polished shoutout to the 1984 photoshoot consisting of a young Michael Jordan with an example set of the OG Air Jordans hanging from his neck by their shoelaces. Nike made use of the images to promote the form that completely transformed basketball and athletic shoe society.

Comparable to Jordan, utilizing his releasing footwear tied around his neck would absolutely wind up being a hallmark visual of Gilgeous-Alexander by the end of the 2024 – 25 NBA period, which produced various firsts for the extremely celebrity, consisting of a hallmark variation, a company racking up title, an NBA MVP, a Finals MVP, and a champion ring.

Reverse wager significant on Gilgeous-Alexander, that wound up being the trademark name’s very first trademark headliner in 15 years with the “BUTTER” SHAI 001, while slating him to reveal 4 new colorways of the footwear throughout the 2025 NBA playoffs. Yet, to make it with them all, SGA required to lead the Rumbling to the NBA Finals– and he did just that.

“Shai’s journey to the Finals and winning the MVP award has actually been nothing except phenomenal,” Rodney Rambo, Converse’s worldwide principal marketing cop, informed Andscape inJune “As a brand for developers, we have actually always recognized Shai moved in a different way. His unmatched imagination, both on and off the court, establishes him apart.”

In a first-round playoff collection versus the Memphis Grizzlies, Gilgeous-Alexander debuted the “ARES GRAY” SHAI 001, inspired by his 1 -year-old youngster’s eyes. However, the colorway would at some point not be contained in the household participants pack, with no methods from the brand name for it to strike retail.

While handling the Denver Nuggets throughout the Western Seminar semifinals, SGA presented the “APPEAL BLACK” colorway as a nod to his mother. After that came a rust orange appearance with the “Hail Clay” colorway, providing blossoms to his partner Hailey, for both his NBA MVP Honor event speech and the Thunder’s workshop finals collection versus theMinnesota Timberwolves

Finally, Gilgeous-Alexander drank the “MASI BLUE” SHAI 001, established in his brother or sister’s favored shade, throughout all 7 video games of the NBA Finals collection in between the Thunder andIndiana Pacers To memorialize the minute of SGA joining the special business of worrying a loads players in NBA background to win the Finals in their launching trademark shoes, Converse crafted an unique “Prize Gold” player-exclusive variation of the SHAI 001 for him.

The trademark name sent out the personalized colorway to Thomasi Gilgeous-Alexander, that connected each shoes with each other by their shoelaces and placed them around his huge bro’s neck at the end of the Rumbling’s 103 – 91 Video video game 7 win, before SGA raised the Larry O’Brien reward and Expense Russell Finals MVP prize.

Gilgeous-Alexander completed his 2024 – 25 NBA job with 3, 172 general factors incorporated in between the typical period and playoffs, keeping in mind among one of the most given that the 1992 – 93 period, when Jordan acquired 3, 207 factors.

SGA’s storybook year developed the stage for the Reverse SHAI 001’s long-anticipated retail launch, which he commemorated by taking place The Tonight Program , keeping in mind a minute that really felt oddly evocative Jordan’s May 19, 1986 look on Late Night with David Letterman to advertise OG colorways of the legendary Air Jordan 1

Almost 4 years later on, family happened the formula to assist Gilgeous-Alexander present the Reverse SHAI 001 to the globe.

“They stated I offered out in mins,” developed Gilgeous-Alexander on Instagram the day after his footwear went down. “I don’t obtained ta hold up, quickly as they turn out they’re completed.”

It was a huge year for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, that supplied amongst one of the most reliable rollouts of a launching trademark footwear that basketball has really seen.