Luka Dončić is getting ready to take over the shoe game with his signature model from Jordan Brand
When thinking about Luka Dončić and trying to break down his style of play to one main characteristic –innovation is the first thing that comes to mind. Because that is exactly what he does on the court as he always keeps finding new ways to score and dominate his opponents. Now, with his first signature sneaker, the “Slovenian Sensation” and the Jordan Brand joined forces to innovate and impress!
The foundations
Before we jump into all the cool, new things that the Luka 1s are bringing, it is also a good idea to take a quick look at the basketball shoes “El Matador” that he wore during his first four NBA seasons to see where some of his inspiration came from. Previously, he wore mostly Nike Hyperdunks and Kobe sneakers, while after signing the contract with Jordan Brand in December of 2019, he rocked the Jordan Jumpman Diamond, Jordan React Elevation (here is a detailed story about them and Luka here). Of course, Dončić was also one of the main ambassadors for the AJ flagship 34, 35 and 36 models. Here is another blog with more details about the 36s. Finally, the Jordan Zoom Separate was the first model that was more closely tailored to Luka’s needs and style or, more specifically, to the stepback.
When it came to creating his signature model, this is what Luka had to say about how excited he was: “Not many people can say they have their own shoes, especially with a brand like Jordan, it’s unbelievable”.
Joël Greenspan, lead designer of the Luka 1 shared additional details: “We spent the entire day with him, went out to dinner together and learned more about him, which inspired us to finish the shoe with renewed energy looking forward to future iterations. The next night, we were all at the game with his team, and he hit that game-winning three against Boston. That was truly galvanizing. It all felt like Luka Magic to me, and I hope people feel that magic when they lace up this shoe.”
All of this should paint a great picture of how much work and passion was invested in creating something that has members of our Grosbasket testers’ team – super excited.
Something fresh
The best place to begin with describing the specifications of these amazing shoes are the new, never before seen, features. Following a long legacy of Jordan Brand inventions, such as the Eclipse Plate and the Flight Plate technologies, Luka 1 introduces the IsoPlate that elevates lateral forefoot stability to a whole new level. This was primarily developed to make number 77’s stepback move even more deadly and accurate. This was achieved in an amazing way that even adds a “springy/jumpy” effect to each move you make. Then, there is the brand new Formula 23, a highly sustainable performance foam injected into the midsole and placed within a phylon carrier. To simplify it, this a guarantee for responsiveness and comfort.
While it is not necessarily a 100% innovation, the sole has somewhat of a unique linear flow pattern that performed great on the indoor courts of Grosbasket stores in Budapest, Ljubljana and Zagreb. There were even some online reviewers who reported above average results on outdoor courts. Our guys will probably save their pairs for indoor use 😀
Finally, there is the lightweight and breathable upper with lateral Flightwire cables for superb containment. It is interesting to see that this is somewhat of a similarity shared with the AJ XXXV. The only thing we have left to do or recommend here is that you visit us and check out for yourself what we were writing about here! Online shoppers can stay true to size – if you have a regular foot and do not play in oversized ankle braces.
One last thing we want to bring to your attention is again linked to innovation that is the main story of the shoe. However, this piece of the information is more for entertainment purposes. Have you seen that Luka is creating new boundaries of social media and the metaverse? Yes, he is now also a “metahuman” and you can follow him here (his TikTok and twitter accounts are linked at the bottom of the page).
Luka is literally taking over everything!
You can also check out a more detailed review of the shoe on our You Tube channel so make sure that you keep following us!