Magnolia Hotshots’ Paul Lee against wearing Nike Ja 1 “Mismatched during a PBA Governors’ Cup game. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia’s Paul Lee is not one to go with the flow.
If anything, he wants to be unique and outstanding. That applies to his skills inside the court and how he presents himself, including through his game-worn shoes.
So when the Hotshots faced Converge in Group A of the PBA Governors’ Cup at Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Lee put on an unusual pair of kicks.
Lee put on a show for Magnolia with his usual drives to the basket and long-range buckets, all while wearing the unusual Nike Ja 1 “Mismatched.”
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And when we say unusual, we mean unusual. The “Mismatched” kicks of NBA star Ja Morant feature the same technology as any Ja 1, except it has two different colors. The left pair is painted neon green while the right is a bright orange shoe.
“It’s just comfort. The traction of the Ja Morant 1 is very much okay with me, it’s good on my feet and that’s why I liked it,” explained Lee in an interview with Inquirer Sports.
But the decision to wear the Ja 1 wasn’t just bred from wanting to sport a unique pair. It was also based on his interest to be a cut above everyone else on the basketball court.
In a time where LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant’s shoe lines dominate the hardwood, Lee wanted to be different.
“Now, only a few are using the Ja 1 because when it was released, almost everyone’s using it. That’s how I am as a player and as a person, I use my pairs a bit later, I delay them so I don’t wear the same pair as everyone does.”
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The Ja 1 was globally released in February of last year. As soon as it was released, hoopers swarmed Nike stores to either cop, re-sell or just plainly use the pair on the hardwood.
However, following Morant’s first shoe release was the controversy that got him suspended from the NBA for a number of games.
From the shoes’ release to Morant’s suspension, one line in the Nike camp was consistently running out like hotcakes. That, of course, is the Kobe line, which got several re-releases from then until now.
Make no mistakes about it, Lee probably has all those newly-released Kobes stashed in his house somewhere.
You just can’t expect him to put it on anytime soon, though.
“Right now, a lot of players are using Kobes, especially with the [new] releases so I’ll stay low key with it. I’ll keep them for maybe 3-4 years? Then, I’ll be using it.”