Kawhi Leonard | Changing the Game: New Balance OMN1S Teaser

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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?

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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.

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The brand is doing something smart right away; introducing multiple colorways at a point right before the start of travel basketball season.

Detroit Camo is inspired by automobile manufacturers obscuring the appearance of prototype cars. This “dazzle camouflage” is used to mislead Kawhi’s opponents while defending his size and speed.
Trust Leonard pays homage to 80’s basketball and includes accents that call back to the “golden era”. In today’s game, with so many stars angling to play together, Leonard stands out as a true independent.
Black Ice preserves the three-pronged chicken foot as the original 1906 source of New Balance sneaker inspiration. Now more than 100 years later, Charlotte will forever be frozen in time when Kawhi Leonard and New Balance Basketball leave their mark.
Best Kept Secret features the color red to convey courage and excitement. Not only is New Balance set to shatter industry expectations, but Kawhi Leonard is ready to reveal the league’s “Best Kept Secret” – himself.
DNA is built by powerful and destructive beasts capable of incredible feats. Though considered extinct, the world’s most unique creatures live on through Kawhi Leonard.
Project 515 shows that the past can inform the future with retro New Balance details. Just like Kawhi Leonard, this new silhouette will inspire the next generation of young hoopers.
All of this means very little if New Balance doesn’t have a true plan of action. This will be a DTC shoe. There isn’t one sneaker store that will give up wall space for the models. This means that the brand will have to take the time to educate the wearers on fit. Right now all they have done is introduce the conversation and that’s cool, but it’s not enough. I recently gave the blueprint for Puma or a new brand reentering the market to be successful through a subversive grassroots launch. New Balance is primed to do this and I really hope they do it.
Use the source link to read and see more pics.

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