The rollout for Devin Booker's debut signature shoe, the Nike Book 1, has been a bit confusing. Nike officially unveiled the shoe last September and released an orange-based colorway limited to 500 pairs at UNKNWN during Art Basel Miami in December. Some fans, particularly the Phoenix faithful, felt a little let down by the super-exclusive launch and inability to secure one of the first pairs. Since then, Booker has made waves by playing in several Player Exclusives inspired by classic Nikes, veering even further from pairs that will be available to the public. We spoke about the issue on the latest episode of the Complex Sneakers Show and shared a clip of the discussion on Instagram earlier today.
Surprisingly, Booker himself commented on our post, saying "A lot of people feel the same way" in response to Matt Welty's criticism of how the launch has been handled. That sparked further discussion below the post, with Booker addressing many commenters directly. He fought back on criticism of the shoe itself, but showed a level of understanding toward those who questioned how it's being launched.
Later, we highlighted his initial response to our video in a follow-up post. In that comment section, Booker seemingly backed off his quote and implied that it was a reach on our end, even though it was word-for-word the exact comment he made.
Even Shaquille O'Neal, the new President of Reebok Basketball, chimed in, offering Booker a new footwear home.
"I know y'all aren't happy with the sneaker launch," said O'Neal on Instagram. "You should come with Reebok. We just getting started. Hit me."
To be fair, there's no reason to believe Booker is anywhere close to considering leaving Nike. Rather, it seems like he just wants to get his shoes into the fans' hands as soon as possible. On that topic, Booker also provided the piece of information we've all been waiting for in his comments—a confirmed release date for the Book 1.
According to Booker, the Nike Book 1 will be released on February 17 during NBA All-Star Weekend. The date had originally been reported by Kicks Finder, which says the "Light Orewood Brown" colorway will be available. According to Sole Retriever, a "Mirage Ashen Slate" colorway will also launch in February, though the exact date wasn't specified.
After a whirlwind day, we're left with the information we were after from the beginning—a clear outlook of the Book 1's availability.
More of Booker's comments from our post below:
