Not NBA Athletes, Gary Payton Revealed Unexpected Customer Base of Signature Shoe

Michael Jordan made regular dudes feel like they could defy gravity. Allen Iverson? He had everybody convinced their crossover could leave ankles in shambles. But Gary Payton? That man made defense look fashionable. There’s a reason they call him “The Glove.” It wasn’t about chasing the ball. With him, it felt like the ball just stuck to his hand. And of course, Nike, being the talent hawk it is, picked up on that fast.

There is no clear information on when the ink dried on Gary Payton’s deal with Nike. But it definitely happened before 1998. That’s when his signature sneaker, the Air Zoom Flight “The Glove”, first dropped and started making noise. Fun fact, he actually had another Nike shoe before that, the Air Zoom GP, technically his first official signature pair. But it was The Glove that really stuck, just like his defense. Now, over two decades later, Payton’s finally peeling back the curtain on what it was like rocking a sneaker that carried his name and his legacy through time.

On a recent episode of the Club 520 Podcast, Gary Payton pulled up as a guest and didn’t hold a thing back. The Glove got real about his days on the court and the wild moments that came with it. When the conversation shifted to his signature shoe days, he laid it all out. Gary said, “you know what that’s crazy, man. That just mean you know you doing work when a company like Nike could come and say, “Look here, man, we don’t want you just to be in a shoe, we want you to have your shoe.”’

And then there was the curveball nobody saw coming. His signature kicks weren’t just a hit with the fellas on the blacktop. Nah, turns out it was the ladies who showed ‘em real love. As Gary laid it down, “The women love the shoe more because they can throw them down and go down with the monkey paw when I had all the different colors in it. So the women was rocking them real tough.” And honestly? That’s the kinda unexpected fanbase you don’t plan for but end up flexing about years later.

10/17/2003 – New Laker point guard Gary Payton before a preseason game between Phoenix Suns and Lakers. (Photo by George Wilhelm/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Well, if there’s one thing Nike’s always been good at, it’s spotting gems in a haystack. And betting on The Glove was money well spent. Because Gary was a defensive menace who backed up every word with his game. Even for Gary, landing that signature shoe deal was a career-defining flex. He opened up about it, saying, “It was a big thing for me…” 

And from the moment the deal was inked, a legacy was born which still lingers in the back of Gary Payton’s mind. If Michael Jordan catapulted Nike to the throne, then Gary Payton made sure the crown stayed polished. Speaking of legacy, the man may be off the court now, but that doesn’t mean he’s tuned out of basketball!

Gary Payton backing up the Warriors and Stephen Curry against NBA refs

NBA refs always get put under a microscope. That’s no surprise there, since their calls can flip entire games on their heads. Lately though, the whistle-blowers haven’t exactly been on their A-game, drawing a ton of heat from both fans and critics. On the latest episode of the “Bars with Brownie and Rab” podcast, NBA champion Gary Payton always weighed in on the chatter around the Warriors-Rockets series.

“He (Stephen Curry) don’t complain at nobody,” Payton said, pointing out Curry’s quiet superstar demeanor. He continued, “The superstar that he is, he got to go to the referees and tell them,” But Payton didn’t stop there. Gary hinted there’s a clear bias against Golden State.

“They don’t like the Warriors, and they always put it on Draymond. They always put everything on Draymond because they say Draymond do the things they don’t want to.” Gary explained. And let’s be real for a moment here. Draymond’s been that unapologetic agitator for years, so it tracks why refs might come in with their guards up.

“So the referees already coming in there bias. They’re already coming in bias against them,” He added. A bold claim, but if anyone’s got the street cred to call out officiating politics, it’s The Glove himself. Gary made it clear that, unlike his playing days, referees today have a much bigger spotlight and a heavier hand in shaping the narrative.

The post Not NBA Athletes, Gary Payton Revealed Unexpected Customer Base of Signature Shoe appeared first on EssentiallySports.