Don’t wear Ja Morant’s signature shoe if you’re playing against him. Sure, it might help your performance, but you might be forfeiting any mental edge going against the young Grizzlies point guard in his own sneakers. How does Morant feel when he sees an opponent wearing a sneaker from his Nike line?
“They’re cooked,” he says bluntly.
“Human highlight reel” is a phrase that certainly comes to mind when thinking about Morant’s game. He has one of the most impressive collections of body-catching posters in the league and he soars through the air as violently as anyone in the NBA. When your game is catered so specifically to being able to do that while also being a playmaker and a leader on the court, your signature shoe better reflect that. That’s Nike’s goal with the upcoming Ja 2, Morant’s second model, which will debut this month.
Improving on your signature line is always the goal when going from one model to the next, and Nike’s senior product director of men’s global basketball footwear, Jarrett Mann, made it clear that the Swoosh focused on two key areas for the Ja 2: bounce and control. Those two elements help make him one of the most dynamic and highest-flying guards in the NBA.
“The Ja 2 is really about increasing that bounce and managing that control so that he can move and fly high the way he does on the court,” Mann says.
In the forefoot, Nike has added a new Air Zoom unit and molded midfoot panel to guide the wearer through quick shifts and better responsiveness. Underneath, the outsole has a new traction pattern inspired by Morant’s childhood.
The outsole of the Nike Ja 2. Via Nike
“This traction pattern you see is actually inspired by Ja’s upbringing,” Mann says. “Jumping through tires and semi-trailers and his workout regimen.”
Morant calls himself “the king of colorways,” and his signature line is no stranger to special makeups. We saw the 1 in a variety of “Scratch” colorways paying homage to everyone’s favorite Grizzlies throwback uniforms, a zombie-clad Halloween version, and more. In early leaks of the Ja 2, we’ve already seen both Halloween and Christmas pairs. Morant assures us that there is more on the way to be excited about.
Morant’s second signature sneaker will release in the debut “Purple Sky” colorway in select markets on Sept. 26 and globally on Oct. 1. Before the drop, read our full interview with Morant and Mann below.
How hands-on is Ja during the design process of his signature shoe?
Morant: Every colorway that we make is pretty much a story or tells something that has to do with my life, no matter when it was, if it was past or present.
Mann: Yeah, I would just echo that. Ja is amazing. You give us your time, your insights, your stories, your colorways, your family. So it really makes the partnership easy when we just listen to Ja and we have a team who is dedicated to him and his product and they make a lot of great product decisions to help bring it to life.
You mentioned how much positive feedback there was for the Ja 1, but what major differences and on-court improvements are there between the 1 and the 2? Ja specifically, what type of improvements were you looking for?
Morant: Obviously my style of play, I like to change direction and obviously I jump very high to some people, but that was pretty much the main thing. Just improving the bounce and control and comfort in the shoe to be able to do an even better job on the floor is pretty much what I wanted to accomplish.
Mann: Some of the tech benefits too, again, consistent underfoot, but I think one of the things, and Ja spoke on this. is comfort. We’ve got this new ankle collar padding that also goes internal, and what it does is just create a better sensation around the ankle, but we understand that the Ja 1 and that ride was great to the consumer. So consistency there. And then in terms of just being lightweight and comfortable, you’ll see this kind of ballistic mesh on the vamp, it keeps it light, keeps it breathable, so you could play over and over and over. So again, a lot of the mechanics and the basics from the 1 and we just want to build on that and make it better.
The Ja 1 was your sneaker for two seasons, a bit longer than the standard turnaround for signature shoes. What went into the thought process there and is that the same thing that we can expect for the 2?
Mann: Introducing a new signature athlete is always an exciting time and I think that one, we had a tremendous amount of success and the ability to kind of maximize the amount of colorways and just the amount of fresh looks. So we’re really excited to introduce the 2 at this moment and we will continue to energize Ja’s signature line. But for that first one, we definitely wanted to maximize and expand on just the amount of colorways, the amount of energy that first
Ja, how surreal is it for you to see other hoopers, whether it be in the league or kids, wearing a sneaker that says your name on it?
Morant: It means a lot, man. Obviously my whole goal is to make sure the sneaker is good for others as well. So to see them wear ’em constantly and playing in ’em is definitely something to be proud of and obviously something I’ve wanted to accomplish during this process. Hats off to everybody who’s been a part of that and we are excited to see who’s trying to play in the Ja 2 next.
There are always these stories of people that refuse to wear the shoes of somebody that they’re going up against. If you see somebody wearing a Ja sneaker that you’re going up against, is that any extra motivation for you?
Morant: Yeah, they’re cooked.
Perfect answer. On the Ja 1, we saw a lot of special colorways. There was the zombie Halloween colorway, there was the “Scratch” Memphis Grizzlies colorways. Can we expect more things like that? I think there’s been a few leaks of some upcoming colorways for certain holidays, but is there anything you could say about upcoming colorways?
Morant: It’s the same as the 1 man. I call myself the king of the colorways, so you definitely can be ready from some exciting colorways to drop.
There was a lot of competition in the signature sneaker marketplace when the Ja 1 came out, but now with the Ja 2, there’s even more. Guys like Devin Booker have their own shoe, other players with other brands. Is that extra motivation for you seeing how many other players have their signature shoes?
Morant: Nah, I’m just blessed to be able to have my own. So my main focus is mine. I don’t knock anybody else’s. Obviously it’s something rare, something you have to earn. So hats off to all the other guys with their signature shoes, but I’m just focusing on my line.
It was just announced that the Grizzlies are bringing back those throwback uniforms finally. How excited are you for that? Do you have special Ja 2s for those jerseys specifically? How excited are you for those uniforms to finally come back?
Morant: We’re in the kitchen now, man. We in the kitchen now. Stay tuned.
Nike Ja 2 Colorways (clockwise from top left): Christmas, Purple Sky, Halloween, Into the Woods
What has been your favorite part of working on the Ja 2, and what’s been your favorite part of this entire journey, designing your second signature shoe?
Morant: Honestly, I can say obviously my first time it was kind of new, so it was a lot thrown at me at once, but it was a lot to process and something to get used to. So now having the Ja 1s under my belt and going into the Ja 2, knowing what to expect and still getting surprised is always the thing that gets me. But I can say that’s just the fun part, being through it once and now I’m able to go to my next Ja 2 and go through this process again. It is just something fun and something you should be proud of with yourself.
Mann: I would just say I think one of the things I’m maybe most excited about is we’re expanding Ja’s offering to kids and so that connection with the youth is important and getting kids started early, inspiring their dreams early. I’m so excited to be able to bring that down into smaller sizes and really just engage with hoopers all around the world at a younger age.
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