Image via Puma
Kevin Knox has the world at his feet. The 19-year-old small forward has made a sparking start to his life in the NBA, winning December's "Rookie of the Month" award and becoming the youngest player in New York Knicks history to score 30 points in a single game.
Knox joined the Knicks as the ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft and he's wasted no time letting the world know he's ready to takeover. Having picked up the U17 FIBA World Championship with the USA, Knox turned pro with plenty of steam – and PUMA took notice.
PUMA's basketball division relaunched as PUMA Hoops last year – with Jay Z as President of Operations – and they wasted no time in making Knox one of their first signings. PUMA Hoops is all about pushing a new wave of basketball culture, and no one represents the new era better than Kevin Knox.
Knox descended on London for the NBA's annual Global Games – with his New York Knicks set to face-off against the Washington Wizards – where he'll debut the Anglo-inspired 'Clyde Court London'. We went down to Foot Locker's Marble Arch store in London to catch up with Kevin and talk all things sneakers, music and basketball.
COMPLEX: First thing’s first – welcome to London! Were you excited to find out you were coming here when the fixture was announced?
Kevin Knox: Yeah definitely – when we figured out we were playing out in London I was excited ‘cause I’ve never been here before. It’s been pretty dope so far.
Is there anything you’d like to try and see/do before you leave?
I might go see some stuff later on, there’s lots of buildings and different stuff out here I wanna check out. Probably not gonna go shopping, but hopefully got some time later on to check out some more of London after practice.
You’re debuting the PUMA Clyde Court London – which is a tribute to the city. What do you think of the new sneaker?
Oh it’s definitely one of my favourite sneakers ever. They put together a dope design, dope colourway, everything...I’ve seen people are loving them on social media too, so when these come out I’m sure a lot of people are gonna be getting their hands on them. It’s gonna be dope to debut them tomorrow in the game.
The “Lion” motif is a big feature of this shoe. How important is strength and bravery to your game day mentality?
That’s the dopest thing about the shoe. Everyone I show it to – my friends, my family – they definitely love it too. The lion really suits me symbolically too, ‘cause when I’m going up against some of these older guys, you’ve got to go into it with the right mindset and confidence.
We’re debuting the shoe in Foot Locker – this must be the perfect place to launch the shoe. Was Foot Locker a big part of your life growing up?
Definitely, Foot Locker is one of the best shoe stores to get your shoes from and I think everyone did that growing up from when we were kids. I still pull up and head their now when I wanna buy some shoes today!
How much did it mean for you to sign to PUMA in your rookie year?
It’s pretty big! It’s my first year in the NBA so it’s good to have a relationship there from the start. I wanted to try something new when I signed with PUMA, I liked what they were talking about, the designs they were showing me… and they just felt really good on my feet too.
Are you a big sneaker head? What’s your collection like and what are your favourite sneakers to wear right now?
I’m a huge sneakerhead. Growing up, I always bought a lot of sneakers. I’m always wearing basketball shoes pretty much everywhere. I’ll be wearing the Clyde Courts a lot from now on, as well as some of the PUMA running shoes too.
Music and basketball have always gone hand in hand. What’s on the locker room playlist right now?
I got a lot of different artists on my playlist. I love Drake and Future, and I gotta bump some Jay Z for that New York flavour too. But I got a lot of different stuff on rotation at the moment. We never really have a speaker on in the locker room, we usually all have our own stuff on on our headphones so we can lock it on our own.
Have you had much chance to listen to any UK music? Some stuff like Skepta and Giggs has made its way Stateside…
Nah I haven’t, I need to check some while I’m over here though for real.
I saw an Instagram post from years ago where you’d mocked yourself on the cover of NBA 2K16. Fast forward to 2K19 and you’re in the game – how cool was that for you? Are you a big gamer?
I play the game all the time for sure. I used to play 2k all the time back then, and being in the game now is cool. All my friends play, and they send me videos of them playing with me on the game. I don’t really like play with myself on the game, but my little brothers and friends love it, so it’s cool to see the enjoying it so much.
Your father was an NFL pro, so athletic excellence runs in the family. Do you think having a strong sporting mentality so close to home aided you in your pursuit of becoming a pro baller?
My whole family growing up played sports, so I’m definitely from a strong sporting background. My mom played three sports growing up, and my dad made it to the NFL and won the National Championships so it’s in my blood. The competitive spirit and the way we worked hard growing up came naturally to me from my family. My dad really pushed me, my brother and my sisters from young to be great. We’ve taken the time and put a lot of work in, so I’m sure we can all go on and achieve some great things.
What’s been the highlight of your rookie year so far?
Probably winning Rookie of the Month. December was a great month for me, I played really good basketball that whole month, and I just wanna keep that confidence up for the rest of the season.
It seems like your form is improving leaps and bounds at the moment – what do you put that down to?
I’ve got a lot better since the start of the season, and I’ve been making some big strides in stepping up game by game. Progress has come through a lot of hard work, extra hours after practice, talking to some of the big guys on my team. But yeah, just staying confident, keeping the work rate high, and accepting there are gonna be ups and downs but making sure I keep up my mentality and making more and more shots.
What’s your prediction for the Knicks vs Wizards game this week?
I think we’re gonna get the dub. Head back to New York with the win. Its definitely gonna be a dope experience playing out in London and playing in front of the fans here. I know they’re crazy about it out here, so I’m gonna go out there and get this win tomorrow.
The PUMA Clyde Court London will be available at PUMA.com US and UK, Foot Locker US and UK and PUMA Store Carnaby Street, London.