CLEVELAND – As Paul George walked from the Thunder locker room out into tunnel that leads to the court, darkness enveloped him. Suddenly, two neon lights glimmered in the dark. One in front of the next, the glow from the tongues of George’s shoes guided him to his comfort zone - the basketball floor.
On Saturday, George unveiled his brand new Nike PG2 PlayStations, that are mainly a dark navy blue with black features, along paint splotches of neon colors adorning the area just above the soles. In addition to light blue and light pink Nike swooshes on the right shoe and hot pink and green swooshes on the left, the shoe’s tongues feature purple light-up logos. On the right shoe is PG’s personal brand’s logo, and on the left is the PlayStation logo. An avid video game player himself, George was heavily involved in the design process.
“It’s amazing the relationship I have with Nike,” George said. “They really took my inspiration and took my input to heart and created the shoe.”
This is George’s second signature shoe release, following up the PG1’s that debuted last January. The experience of having a such an honor is not lost on George, considering he became just Nike’s 21st player to have a signature shoe. As a result, he took the lessons from the release of the PG1 seriously, and applied them to the creation of this second iteration.
“I’m thrilled for the world to see the next step of the PG evolution and the next phase of my signature sneaker,” George added. “I wanted it to be kind of the same as far as feel and comfort but aesthetic-wise I wanted it to be different.”
As George went through his gameday routine he glided from one side of the court to the other in the new PG2, preparing his body - and one of his greatest natural gifts, his feet - for the Saturday matinee matchup with the Cavaliers. Ultimately for George, his basketball shoes are about the most important thing they’re designed for: the game.
“It feels amazing. Honestly I want it to fit in that slot that a signature guy was making a sneaker for the population for the fans, a shoe that guys can really play in and elevate their game and feel great playing in,” George explained. “That’s where my whole mindset and heart was, keeping it geared really to the game and making a shoe I know everybody could play well in.”
Watch: Paul George Unveils Nike PG2 'Playstation'