ACCORDING to a shoe survey conducted by SoleSavy.com’s Eddie Vargas, PUMA was an “unexpected runner-up” in the on-court sneaker battles in the heated Lakers-Heat finals series.
If Nike had 23 players across Miami and LA regularly rocking the Swoosh on the hardcourt, Puma had four: Kendrick Nunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Danny Green, and Kyle Kuzma. (Rajon Rondo also alternated between Pumas and Nikes in the postseason, wrote Vargas.)
For comparison, adidas was only represented by Goran Dragic.
Amid all the Kobe Protros (an understandable choice for the Lakers), Zoom Freaks, KDs, and LeBrons, the leaping cat logo was a refreshing sight among the hardcourt hardware.
Kuzma — the young, stylish LA forward whose fits were a fixture in tunnel walk photos, pre-pandemic — wants to sustain Puma Basketball’s momentum.
Early this month, PUMA revealed the Clyde All-Pro Kuzma Mid: a towering performance shoe with street style ambitions.
“This shoe brings the best of both worlds out,” Kuzma said in an interview posted today by Hypebeast's Ross Dwyer.
The Clyde All-Pro Mid is actually the first foray into PUMA performance gear from designer Rhuigi Villaseñor. “I wanted to give PUMA Hoops a firm introduction into that retro space,” said the Philippine-born designer to Dwyer. He emphasized the sneaker’s commitment to pro-level cushioning. “You’ve gotta protect the real estate that’s the player, so we had to strike that balance between design and comfort.”
Part of Kuzma’s deal with PUMA was a lot of hands-on input with how his signature shoes will look. And he had a lot of say in this collab with the founder of design venture RHUDE. “You get that classic high top style, but the upper is made of a special mesh and has a unique lacing system,” said the Lakers' young gun.
He added: “You’d never wear a lot of modern hoop shoes out in public because they don’t look right, but these are versatile enough that you can wear them off the court with jeans, sweats, trousers and they don’t even appear to be a ‘basketball shoe.’”
The PUMA Clyde All-Pro Mid will debut this week in the United States for $150, or around P7,200.
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