Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum returned from a two-month layoff from injury against the New Orleans Pelicans, sporting a pair of never-seen-before Li-Nings.
Portland Trail Blazers: CJ McCollum releases first signature Li-Ning shoe
McCollum sported the rose-city-themed kicks in the fixture with the Pelicans, and the new shoes were spotted by sneaker and basketball fashion expert Nick De Paula. De Paula covers these types of releases for ESPN, and his Twitter feed is full of new sneaker releases and old throwback shoes that players wear on the court.
UPDATE: This is @CJMcCollum’s 1st signature shoe, the Li-Ning CJ 1.
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) March 17, 2021
Expected to release later this year... https://t.co/fRwEwV4a2s
De Paula updated the earlier tweet, announcing that these custom sneakers were actually McCollum’s first-ever signature sneaker. Aptly called the Li-Ning CJ1.
McCollum has been with Chinese brand Li-Ning since 2017, signing a five-year deal after his breakout season in 2016, where he was awarded the most improved player award.
McCollum was with Nike before that, originating from a deal signed when he was a rookie.
As a second-tier player in the league just below the star level, McCollum signed with Li-Ning so he could have input into the brand and its decisions. Li-Ning’s other NBA athletes include the recently retired Dwyane Wade, former Blazer Evan Turner, and current stars Jimmy Butler and D’Angelo Russell.
More details will follow on the Rose-City-themed sneaker, Li-Ning though it isn’t a major brand, has wide-spread distribution in the United States.
McCollum continues to blaze a trail as someone who does things differently. He now has his own wine brand to go with his own line of signature sneaker.