For a professional basketball player like Dejounte Murray, the traditional roles a guard plays are simply suggestions. Sometimes there is more that needs to be done. He’s equally at home driving through the paint and getting steals near the half-court line, and he needs footwear as dynamic and versatile as his game.
Enter the New Balance TWO WXY v3, which is the latest in a series of shoes designed for position-less players from the brand.
“The TWO WXY v3 is truly built with our athletes in mind and inspired by the continued evolution of who they are on and off the court,” says Trent Casper, general manager of basketball at New Balance. “We’re thrilled to deliver best-in-class technology for a shoe that includes lightweight stability and bold design, that is grounded in how our players are wired differently.”
Above the TWO WXY v3 technology, the synthetic upper will come in a wide variety of colorways, many of which offer nods to different players’ personalities and even their lives off the court. Case in point, the first TWO WXY V3 to drop comes in the “Cerebral” colorway, with red and blue accents that reference the brains and synapses of basketball-obsessed players whose gameplay extends beyond the court and into the mind. A recent New Balance video spot features the colorway prominently, featuring Jamal Murray, Zach LaVine, Dejounte Murray, Darius Bazley, Aaron Nesmith, and Kawhi Leonard playfully shooting around together over a track from New Balance ambassador Jaden Smith.
“All of these guys are changing the game in their own way,” says Desron Dorset, New Balance’s head of basketball marketing, on the commercial. “To bring them together and have them naturally interact on set and hoop like they did growing up was incredible to see and capture.”
The silhouette was the co-star of New Balance Basketball’s booth at ComplexCon, along with streetwear favorite, the 550 model. Sneakerheads and ballers alike were stoked to converge on the bleachers in the booth, and go head to head in trivia for free New Balance gear (including pairs of TWO WAY v3.) The “Abstract” colorway of the TWO WXY v3 was also on display, and a clear fan favorite.
New Balance plans to release more colorways over the course of the season, including several inspired by the players. An upcoming “Jamaica” colorway pays tribute to Muray’s roots and lineage, while the “Windy City” sneaker will honor’s LaVine’s home away from home, and Dejounte Murray’s “Stonecutter” will be a love letter to the history of the game.
With eye-catching colorways and the technology to improve performance for players from point guards to power forwards, the TWO WXY v3 is a basketball shoe focused on the future of the game. That was evident during Media Week at the start of the season, when the Murray, LaVine, Murray, Bazley and Nesmith donned the shoe in colorways that reflected easy players’ team uniforms. With a diverse roster of emerging star players wearing the TWO WXY v3 this season, you’re sure to see it pop up in highlight reels along the way. To learn more about the shoe, head to newbalance.com/basketball.
