A few months back, Sean Malcolm, my former cube-mate at KING magazine, assigned me the sweet task of speaking with both Gilbert Arenas and Chris Paul about their places on the covers of NBA Live '08 and NBA 2K8 respectively. The interviews were eventually published in the November '07 issue of KING and I kind of didn't think much about them after that. Agent Zero has sat out most of the season with an injury and Chris Paul's career couldn't be in more full swing.
Last week, I noticed (quite delayed) that Adidas, Arenas' shoe of choice, made a special NBA LIVE / EA SPORTS version of their Team Signature sneakers in honor of their man's presence on the cover of their magazine. More accurately known as the Men’s TS Lightswitch Low (EA Sports) they seem way more suited for off court than on. However, playing in sneakers below the ankle is an acquired taste. I mentioned my discovery to my esteemed superior editor, Khalid Salaam, who promptly placed a call to the three-stripe folks and had them send me over a pair.
I missed work Friday (flu bug) and made it in to work today, Tuesday, to find a fresh pair of said sneakers (with Khalids name on them) set aside for me to check out. Not only did I check them out, but I rocked them for the majority of the day.
By coincidence, a freelance assignment had me speaking with Chris Paul about his new signature sneaker from Jordan. The kick features the number 61 (in honor of the age his grandfather was when he was murdered) and the name, SKIP, on the inner tongue (to honor his college coach, Skip Prosser, who passed away late last year).
While Adidas promptly put in my request for the kicks pictured above, Jordan brand claimed they lacked the product. So, I doubt I will be able to bring original photos of a pair of Chris Paul Jordan brand kicks to this blog. Their loss!
