James Harden basketball shoes

James Harden basketball shoes

Unlike other NBA superstars that receive a signature shoe right off the bat, James Harden had to go through his first years signature shoe-less. However, it wasn't all bad as the athlete was signed with Nike as an endorser of several team shoe models.

During Harden’s stint at Nike, which is undoubtedly dominated by LeBron James, he was able to endorse some of the brand’s high-performing team model basketball shoes. The Nike Zoom Crusader, Nike Zoom Run the One, Nike HyperRev 2015, and the Nike HyperChase are just some of Nike basketball shoes James Harden endorsed.

In 2015, the NBA athlete was finally offered a signature shoe deal by the Three Stripes. He joins stars Derrick Rose and Damian Lillard in Adidas’s roster of greats.

The three lines of Harden basketball shoes

James Harden has at least three signature lines with Adidas. The first line produces the most popular performance models that are widely available in the States and other countries. The second line is composed of performance models that are cheaper. These models are usually first released overseas. The third line is James Harden's lifestyle collection. The shoes from this line, however, can still be worn on court.

The colors of James Harden basketball shoes

J Harden performance basketball shoes are called “Volumes” because each model comes in numerous (or a volume of) colorways. Each colorway stands for an important element or aspect of James Harden's life. According to Adidas Basketball Product Manager Cory Allen, “...we named it that way because you can start to think about chapters and how you can evolve the storytelling. We’re just in the beginning phases of scratching the surface of what James’ story means for him and what he wants to bring to life.”

For example, the "Imma Be A Star, Harden Volume 1" tells the story of the ninth-grader Harden writing his mother a note saying, "Could u wake me up at 7:00 and could u leave me a couple of dollars... P.S. Keep this paper Imma be a [star]."

James Harden honors Arizona State University, his college alma mater, through the colorways “Fear the Fork” and the “Gila Monster.” The black and sun gold colorway of “Fear the Fork” uses the Sun Gold Devil’s team color. The pink and gray colorway takes its inspiration from the Gila monster, a venomous lizard that is native to the state.