Having a line of shoes dedicated is considered to have acquired an important status within the NBA.
This is why the agreement signed by Austin Reaves, a very good player but certainly not a superstar. He too, however, will have his signature shoes, a dedicated line of shoes. Putting him under contract, for a seven-figure sum (so we’re talking millions of dollars but less than 10) was the Chinese company Rigorer who thus tries to break through in the basketball market.
The shoe will be called AR1 (not the most fancy). It is a basic black model with a white sole. However, there is no shortage of purple streaks and some yellow inserts, as seen in the photos posted by Reaves himself on Instagram. There are also some gold-colored parts, such as Rigorer’s logo (a crosshair) on the sides, a stylized ball at the end of the laces, some parts on the sole and the tongue: still the company’s brand name on one shoe, what looks like Reaves’ initials on the other. The presence of yellow and purple is further confirmation that the player (currently a restricted free agent) is likely to stay with the Lakers.
The bootie will go on sale this summer. To present the line Reaves was a guest of Shams Charania in Inside The Association, the podcast of Stadium.
A magical moment for Reaves, author of an excellent season and an even more convincing post-season, capped by a very likely call-up to Team USA for the World Cup.
The price of the shoes? It hasn’t been made official yet, expect something less than the latest versions from the big brands but not a big savings. A realistic prediction is around $120-140.
