Things did not go as planned in the North Carolina-Duke rivalry matchup as Zion Williamson’s foot went through his shoe. Duke is a Nike school, and Williamson is believed to have been wearing the white and blue Paul George model. The above photo is a close-up of the Nike shoe Williamson was wearing during the early minutes of the matchup against North Carolina.
Here is a slow-motion look at Williamson blowing out his shoe. George’s PG logo can be seen on the heel of the Nike shoe.
Zion Williamson goes down and his foot rips through his shoes😳
Via @gswchris
You can see the PG logo in the photo of Williamson below as well as the same logo on George’s signature shoe in another photo.
Zion broke out of his SHOE 😨
The story behind Paul George’s Nike logo might surprise you. t.co/jvsZcsGAEk
Baller Shoes DB reported Williamson wore the Adidas Dame 4’s in high school but has been seen wearing the Kyrie Irving Nike model while at Duke.
Duke phenom Zion Williamson, a 5-star recruit in the Class of 2018, is built like a linebacker but dunks with the finesse of Dominique Wilkins. His shoe of choice for his high-flying dunks during his senior year of high school were the Dame 4s, while he’s opted for the Kyrie 4s and 5s so far with the Blue Devils.
Nike is one of several shoe companies courting Williamson with a potentially massive deal once he heads to the NBA.
Zion Williamson Could Earn a $100 Million Shoe Deal
ESPN’s Jay Williams believes Williamson is in line for a big sneaker deal. Williams told TMZ that Williamson could earn a $100 million shoe contract.
Zion Williamson is SO good … a shoe company could sign the guy to a $100 MILLION contract when he leaves Duke — so says Jay Williams.
TMZ Sports spoke with the Blue Devils legend out in NYC when he told us Zion is so insanely talented, he should get the biggest sneaker contract since LeBron James.
“He has that marketability. That smile. And, who else is 6’7″, 285 with a 43-inch vertical that can entertain you like that? Nobody.”
Of course, LBJ famously signed a 7-year, $90 million Nike contract back in 2003 before he entered the NBA. But, most guys coming out since haven’t come close to those figures.
George’s shoes are wildly popular especially with unique recent releases with NASA and PlayStation themes. George spoke about his thought process with his signature kicks.
“The thing I can do is go after the best players in our league and shut them down in the shoes,” George said, per Nike.com. “That’s the goal. That’s going to be the best way to highlight the PG2 and show all what they can do performance-wise. I got my hands full, but I got the right shoes for the job.”
Puma Trolled Nike Then Deleted Their Tweet
Puma has deleted their tweet.
Action Network’s Darren Rovell reported that Puma trolled Nike with a tweet after the incident, but then later deleted the tweet. Given Williamson suffered an injury on the play the company likely thought the timing of the tweet was poor.
“Worst Nike shoe malfunction since Eliud Kipchoge missed a record in the Berlin Marathon in 2015 after the insoles fell out of his shoes. Nike said they were prototypes. Doesn’t compare to the stage that the Zion malfunction was just on…It’s not a material loss to Nike’s business, but I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Nike’s stock, on no other news, didn’t do a little dip tomorrow morning from this prominent event,” Rovell tweeted.
Here was Twitter’s reaction to the Williamson’s shoe malfunction.
Just like Calvin Cambridge…
You can get a similar pair of the @Nike Paul George 2.5 shoes that Zion Williamson blew out right now for just $90.
As someone who wears in Paul George’s, I’m shook. Imagine if that had been me instead of Zion?
Damn…. I think Paul George just lost the NBA MVP because he hurt Zion
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Zion Williamson Shoes: What Kind Was Duke Player Wearing?