In the NBA, we’ve seen a regular occurrence of eye-turning retros worn in-game. In a January loss to the Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors power forward James Johnson brought out a pair of "Varsity Red" Air Jordan XVIIs from 2002. Nick Young, a favorite in the sneakerhead community, showcased the depth of his collection when he played against Detroit this season in a pair of 2001 "Cool Grey" XIs.
Considering there are many more examples, one has to wonder why NBA players opt to play in retros in the first place. Look through enough sneaker forums and you’re sure to find a handful of people who'd rather ball in older kicks than the newer models out there. There’s no doubt that today's basketball sneakers are more comfortable to hoop in, but are NBA players actually rocking them for comfort?
“No, the retros actually aren’t that comfortable all the time,” says Phoenix Suns small forward P.J. Tucker. Along with being a lockdown defender, Tucker is equally notorious for his footwear on court. The 6’5”, 225 lbs swing man used this season to bring out some of the oldest sneakers around. However, Tucker says the Air Jordan III is pretty comfortable. In fact, he used halftime in a January game against the Cavs to swap out his ‘Doernbecher’ IXs for a pair of retro "Cement" IIIs. That being said, Tucker admits retro Jordans are more probably for stunting than anything else. “A lot of the other [retros] aren’t so comfortable, but I’ll wear them anyway.”
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