Nike's Warped Skate Shoe Wasn't Designed to Shred
NBA wunderkind Devon Booker's collaboration with Nike takes a basketball-gone-skateboard shoe back to its roots. Because, perhaps unbeknownst to casual fans, the Blazer Low model in question dates back to the '70s and was used for dribbling long before it'd do kickflips.
Not to be confused with the Phoenix Suns' Book 1 series for Nike, April 2025's green "Chevrolet" or December's "College Navy" styles of the Blazer Low, this most recent release landed January 6, in a "Pearl Grey" and an orange slash blue Detroit Tigers version.
Originally priced at $135, the Nike Blazer Low Devon Booker sneaker is extensively detailed, if unassumingly so. Notice, for instance, the embroidered Old English D on its sides and the decorative indentations along the upper sole border, including a tastefully tiny Swoosh. Oh, and let's not forget the signature "BOOK" text across the shoe's tongue or the warped laces that wrap around the upper.
As for Booker's connection to the Michigan team, it's where his father, NBA vet Melvin Booker, used to live. Visiting the latter was what ignited his interest in the state's sports and culture.
For the more impartial, the "Pearl Grey" iteration of Devon Booker's Nike Blazer Low is a far subtler yet still stylish tribute, or just an easy, everyday sneaker even.
With their diagonal lace placement, Blazer Lows are an off-the-beaten-path sneaker that lend something more interesting to look at at than your average kicks can provide, even when refraining from wild feline stripes.
After all, unique mustn't mean shrill.
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