Patience is a virtue.
In 2018 New balance announced his proper return to the world of basketball. The American sneaker brand had ditched tires for a while after a period of relevance in the 80s and 90s when shoes like the NB 450 and 550 were regularly seen on the pitch. For the past two years, New Balance’s bucket-sourcing efforts have been bucking the norm at every turn. The result is a basketball brand that has managed to balance exclusivity with accessibility and has a firm footing in its identity – something that many of its direct competitors cannot claim. And it all starts with Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard, a former NBA Champion / Finals MVP with athletes San Antonio Spurs and Jordan Brand (at that time), came back from a season that had been largely off the field with rumors that he was making a trade with his instead Hometown LA Wanted found themselves with the Toronto Raptors, a team close to the title fight looking for the missing piece that would bring them the championship glory that had escaped them for so long. Leonard joined the Raptors as a sneaker free agent after turning down an extension with Jordan, and in November it was revealed he’d signed with New Balance as the face of their revamped Hoops brand.
It was a match made in heaven. The New Balance brand has always been clearly reserved and quiet. Kawhi Leonard was and is one of the more iconoclastic NBA superstars, especially due to his incredibly low-key nature.
Still, it felt like a bold move to put an entire brand relaunch on one athlete. Around the same time puma re-entered basketball and went the opposite way by signing several trusted B-list stars like Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, and Terry Rozier. It felt like the smarter move at the time – Puma takes on as many visible players as possible.
New balance OMN1S | $ 140
That changed during the 2019 All-Star Weekend. Leonard debuted the first New Balance basketball sneaker in ages, the OMN1S (pronounced “Ohm-Niss”), during the game. The high-top silhouette was strange, excellent and subtle at the same time. With a tight-knit fabric on the upper and a solid sole primed with the brand’s fuel cell technology, fans seemed intent on getting their hands on the shoe and grabbing a couple of buckets.
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The catch? They could not. The OMN1S didn’t see a widespread release after the All-Star Weekend, though Leonard rocked them on the court for the rest of the season and during the playoff run. It turned out to be a remarkably smart move – here was one of the hottest players of the season wearing a new pair of signature sneakers that no one could get their hands on.
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New Balance OMN1S 2-way | Prices vary
Then came May 12, 2019. In a moment now anchored in basketball legend, Kawhi Leonard hit a really insane summer beater who hit the edge FOUR TIMES before beating the Philadelphia in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals 76ers competed and sent the Raptors to the conference finals.
Kawhi hit this shot with the “2-way” color of the OMN1Sthat first went on sale in a hyper-limited drop a week earlier. The shoe sold out quickly as it was reportedly the only time it went on sale before a general release scheduled for fall. But suddenly it wasn’t just a shoe anymore. It was THE shoe, the shoe that Kawhi The Shot met (and which he eventually wore when he led the Raptors to their very first NBA championship a few weeks later). The hype was real.
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The following July, Kawhi signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and New Balance, benefiting from another hyper-limited drop of a commemorative color. Shortly in its first season with the team, the shoe was launched more widely, though the colors still sold out quickly. For a while it was almost impossible to get a pair. New Balance’s plan had worked. The OMN1S was one of the hottest shoes in basketball.
New Balance Kawhi | $ 160
If it ain’t broken, why fix it? During the All-Star Weekend 2020, New Balance Kawhi unveiled its first signature sneaker with the aptly named brand New Balance Kawhiduring the big game. Like the OMN1S before, the shoe was no longer made available after its debut on the pitch. Instead, the brand held back for a limited drop in August 2020 (in a color modeled after the original 2-way OMN1S from the previous year).
The Kawhi is a shoe armor, a heavy, sturdy brick built for strength and endurance. It’s a far cry from many other typical basketball sneakers like this one Kyrie 7who seem to prioritize cutting as much weight as possible for better maneuverability. The Kawhi does not set any weight records in this sense, but is still a solid tire shoe that is ideal for players with larger frames and imposing, physical play styles.
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New Balance 550 | Prices vary
The basis of a good basketball brand certainly lies largely in performance. And hey, New Balance has that between that right now OMN1S and the Kawhi. But it is not the end of everything. Hoops shoes are just as much a part of the lifestyle space, and while nothing stops you from wearing one of these shoes on the go (they look great off the field, especially the Kawhi, which comes in a variety of eye-catching colors), it felt definitely that way although something was missing.
No more. 2021 marks the year that the final track for New Balance Hoops completely takes off. It comes in the form, not of the new, but of the old – the New Balance 550 makes his return. While it may not have the iconic old-school cast that Nike and Adidas New Balance was largely a force in basketball. It has a lot of legacy silhouettes that might not play very well on the court today, but still look stunning with jeans or fancy sweats.
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New Balance 550 “Mag Leon Dore” | Prices vary
As with the OMN1S and KawhiNew Balance reintroduced the silhouette with a limited drop-in Collaboration with the fashion juggernaut Aimé Leon Dore. The colors have a gorgeous off-white hue that emphasizes the vintage feel of the shoe. Then came a handful of basic colors, which also sold out quickly. More drops are on the way to make the 550 one of the hottest shoes of 2021.
The sneaker brand is a crowded space and often the only way to get attention seems to be to make as much noise as possible at once. Two years after its official return to the field, New Balance Basketball is evidence of the alternative. Sometimes what you need is less noise than patience. You have to find the right athlete or brand ambassador at the right time, make one great shoe instead of a dozen, and hope that one of them makes an impression. You need to understand the power of silence in a noisy field and know when to let your voice be heard. After two years, 2021 seems to be the year New Balance basketball has built towards. Let’s see where it takes them.
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