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Devin Booker is different. How he approaches the game is different. His obsession with past decades is definitely different. His extensive collection of classic cars, various. Her Arizona home is decorated with tastefully placed vintage furniture, distinctive. His historian-like knowledge of basketball sneakers varied wildly. How he approached the lifecycle of his signature shoe, the Nike Book 1, was markedly different.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. And with an eye as unique and curated as Devin Booker’s, his debut signature sneaker was bound to be the culmination of years of meticulous passion and patience.
The Book 1 is unlike anything Nike has brought to the woodwork in years past. It’s subtle simplicity with a royal accent. Soft leathers, a rounded toe box and simple stitched overlays all create an off-the-game aesthetic combined with a crazy on-court feel. Plush is an understatement.
Featuring a Cushlon 2.0 foam midsole and Zoom Air cushioning in the forefoot, Booker and lead designer Ben Nethongkome have incorporated an array of premium materials and technologies into his signature debut.
Book 1 echoes the essence of the museum, fusing a collection of vintage and modern textures in a low top. Depending on the color inspiration, the finish should be waxy and subdued, like the cracked detailing reminiscent of the desert Phoenix on the front of Chapter One or the smooth touch of the tonal tan Mirage. A workwear textile stitched thickly in the middle adds iconic depth to the midfoot panel.
But before we dive much deeper, we need to travel. Physical and figurative. A journey through the mind of Devin Booker and the straight path he took from the dewy ground of Beaverton to the scorched pavement of Arizona.
The 24th Nike athlete to wear a signature shoe is highly committed to the signature process. The evidence is overwhelming. Early in the model’s 18-24 month production cycle, a trip to Nike’s Archives (DNA for short) in Beaverton sparked a vision that Booker has since brought to life.
Its first silhouette pays homage to the firsts in Nike basketball history: the Air Force 1, the Air Jordan 1 and the Nike Blazer, the first Nike basketball shoe. Inspired by Booker’s ’72 Chevy Blazer K5, where he kept the vintage exterior and outfitted the interior with an upgraded engine, the Nike Book 1 explores an aesthetic that bridges the decades. The result is a future classic crafted with a sea of luxurious materials and a level of storied history that can only be found in the mind of a 27-year-old.
During All-Star Weekend, Booker invited members of the media and close friends to an intimate library lounge to celebrate the debut of the Nike Book 1 in the SNKRS app “Mirage” colorway. Different colors were woven into the bookcases that lined the walls of the dimly lit room. On wooden tables were large leather boxes inscribed with gold foil. This was more than just typing. A real, true partnership was forming. An alliance that featured many, many exceptional iterations.
During the 2023-24 NBA season, Booker showed his deep appreciation and understanding of the history of the Beaverton brand through a range of Player Exclusive colorways. On Christmas Day, he paid homage to his father’s favorite shoe, the Air Max 95, with a Neon colorblock from 1995. A tribute to the legendary Air Jordan XI “Cool Grey” landed in early November. And those “Be Legendary” Kobe 4 and Kobe 5 colorways he rocked a few years ago? Yes, he turned them into their respective ensembles.
His love of the outdoors has been channeled through the infamous ACG Air Mowabb ‘Twine’ colorway, matching the Teal Charge/Club Gold/Twine trifecta tee. And its subtle, classic mystique emerged around 1972 when Nike Cortez was greeted with the white, red and blue colors that blocked Forrest Gump in the 1994 film.
The construction of the Air Jordan 1 wasn’t the only inspiration Book took from the landmark model. The compositions “Metallic Purple” and “Shattered Backboard” also got their due shine. Classic after classic. OG after OG.
While Book 1 was churning out miles in Nike sneakers, a few glimpses of Book’s personal preferences made their way onto the Footprint Center floor. The triple-black design, embroidered with a crisp white Detroit Tigers logo, arrived in early November. An icy blue throwback to his 2019 “Moss Point” Air Force 1 Low dropped a few weeks later. And a concoction in white, dedicated to one of his favorite shows, Narcosmaterialized at the end of March.
Over the past 10 months, Devin Booker has been slowly regaining the engagement level of a signature athlete. The approach was methodical, calculated, timely, purposeful. canvas for his dedication to the process and those who came before. This sneaker, this moment, is definitely Devin Booker.
The pops of color, the mix of fabrics, the tongue insert, the sleek aesthetic, even the vibe found in the room at All-Star Weekend, all come from who Devin Booker is at his core.
There’s a reason the model’s debut Mirage colorway went up in smoke within minutes on the SNKRS app. Devin Booker just gets it. He cares about the story, he cares about the materials, he cares about creating moments. Devin Booker is a taster on another level.
Photos via Getty Images.
