Kawhi Leonard is unapologetically himself.
Source: Kawhi Leonard – Changing the Game – New Balance
New Balance has officially shifted back into basketball. The shoe they’ve created is named the OMN1S… I can’t pronounce that and that’s not a good thing. adidas recently did the whole, numbers in the name thing and I wasn’t fond of that either. I assume OMN1S is omni which is a prefix that means all. Kawhi is definitely representative of “all” as he plays both ends of the floor at an MVP level.
But let me go Kanye for a second…New Balance left the Red Mamba hanging and he had to retire (I know Matt Bonner was old, but just go with it). Seriously, Kawhi’s teammate was the only player wearing New Balance and luckily for him by the time his career was winding down he still had a couple of pairs left, but New Balance would have been better served giving Bonner his own NB shoe. Why? That’s the type of quirky legacy the brand needs to shift back into the sport isn’t it?
I like Kawhi. He’s an SDSU guy. I’m an SDSU guy. We have shared roots on Montezuma Mesa, but there is a reason Jordan Brand didn’t make a fuss when he decided to walk away. Kawhi is very understated. He is a throwback player. You never hear people talk about James Worthy as one of the best to ever play the game, but he was. He was a New Balance guy who allowed his ferocious dunks on the fast break to establish his presence. He won 3 championships, was a 7x All Star and won an NBA Finals MVP. Magic Johnson was the showman, Kareem was the captain, but Worthy was clutch.
Worthy didn’t sell kicks. Matt Bonner, wouldn’t have sold kicks, but he would have given the brand a quirkiness and levity that Kawhi doesn’t bring. New Balance understands this because they made sure to create ad spots playing up his silence as an attribute:
https://twitter.com/nbhoops/status/1096060156348190720
This might resonate with a guy like me who will only casually pick up a ball to shoot around, but it doesn’t resonate with young hoopers, but it should. Kids don’t like defense. Kawhi plays defense. Kids love flashy plays. Kawhi just gets it done. All of the bells and whistles that arrive with a signature athlete are not trademarks of Kawhi and this means that New Balance will have to gain access to the players through an unconventional manner. They will have to sell the shoes. Marketing won’t grab kids. People won’t wear these casually: I sell more retro shoes and trainers than I do basketball shoes.
The brand is doing something smart right away; introducing multiple colorways at a point right before the start of travel basketball season.