Getty RJ Barrett reveals a new shoe design with Puma.
Fresh off a contract extension for RJ Barrett, the New York Knicks forward revealed a new shoe design that will be sold exclusively at Puma’s New York City storefront.
The news comes from ESPN’s Nick DePaula who reveals the design, officially titled Fusion Nitro “RJ” PE, will feature colors that pay homage to Barrett’s Canadian roots as well as his alma mater Duke.
“The mis-matched red & blue colors honor his Canadian heritage and his time at Duke,” DePaula reported. “Tongue label features #9 and a Maple leaf, with “Maple Mamba” embroidered on the inside.”
Puma & @RjBarrett6 are releasing the Fusion Nitro “RJ” PE, exclusively at Puma’s NYC flagship store.
The mis-matched red & blue colors honor his Canadian heritage and his time at Duke. Tongue label features #9 and a Maple leaf, with “Maple Mamba” embroidered on the inside.
It doesn’t seem like this will be a shoe you can simply purchase online, but you’ll instead have to visit a physical location to snag them.
Barrett Making His Mark
While it’s not something that gets used a whole lot, one of Barrett’s nickname is the “Maple Mamba,” which is an homage to the late Kobe Bryant and his nickname of the Black Mamba.
After starring alongside teammate Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson at Duke, Barrett made the leap to the NBA by getting selected third overall by the Knicks.
Barrett was able to break a long-running Knicks streak that dated back to 1999 when he signed a contract extension with the team.
The forward was dangled in a potential move for Donovan Mitchell this summer, but when the Jazz traded the star guard to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks went public with the extension.
If the Knicks want to make the playoffs again, they’ll need to rely on Barrett making an All-Star-type leap for them as well as a return to form from Julius Randle. Randle was a member of the All-NBA team two seasons ago before going into a season-long slump last year.
New to the team this season will be Jalen Brunson, and the trio will all be heavily relied upon if they want to find any sort of success.
More Moves Coming Before the Season?
Missing out on Mitchell means the Knicks were able to hang onto all of their draft picks as well as the stable of young talent.
It seems like they are ready to go into the year with all of their pieces intact, but there are still some moves that can be done before the season begins if they want to go down that path.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a name that has been thrown around, but it’s not clear how open the Oklahoma City Thunder will be to dealing their young star who is under contract until 2027. What’s more likely is that the Knicks will be going into the new year without making a big trade, but that’s okay.
Brunson will bring a steadiness to the point guard position that has been there in decades. Barrett has been getting better each year he’s been in the league, and year four might be the long-awaited breakout fans have been hoping for. He’s still waiting on his first All-Star appearance, something Williamson and Jar Morant, two players picked ahead of him in the draft have achieved already.