words // Brandon Richard
After a December 7th game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Gilbert Arenas (then of the Washington Wizards) made sports and fashion headlines across the world when he wore a pair of $395 Dolce & Gabbana hi-top sneakers on the court. It certainly wasn't Gilbert's first out-of-the-box sneaker selection of the season, but it did mark the night when we all realized that it was going to be a very interesting footwear year for the man now known as the "Sneaker Champ."
In fact, Gil's sneaker collection was the story of the year. Whether you were on the blog, forums, Twitter or Facebook, people could be found talking about his footwear choice after each game. Those discussions were particularly interesting when he wore something that we didn't expect to see. The Jordan CMFT Max Air 12; FILA Grant Hill; "Snakeskin" Air Jordan Retro 11 Low and PE colorways of the Reebok Question and Air Jordan XIII were just some of his kicks that really caught our attention throughout the season.
By my count, Gilbert wore 36 different sneaker models throughout the season. The brands he wore included Nike, Jordan Brand, Reebok, Under Armour, Dolce & Gabbana and FILA. He wore more different Nike Retro models than any other brand, but wore Jordans most frequently. Gil laced up all of the original 14 Air Jordans, excluding the I and III. He was slated to wear the "Cement" IIIs on March 1st against the Knicks, but sat the game out injured and never wore them during the remaining games. Three different Reebok and Under Armour models were worn, FILA once and D&G once. In total, he played in 75 games including the playoffs.
Sole Collector's Zac Dubasik caught up with Gilbert in a December game against the Cleveland Cavaliers to talk about his sneaker collection and decision to wear different pairs for each game. Gil said he was excited about his sneaker free agency because it reminded him of high school days when he could buy and wear anything that he liked. He also said that his collection consisted of 50 pairs, which I'd guess he sold himself short on.
Toward the middle of the season, Gil and his team launched a new sneaker micro-site called Sneaker Champ. The site features a calendar that recaps the shoe Gilbert wore in each game. Along with the site, Gil teamed with UNDRCRWN to launch a set of Sneaker Champ t-shirts.
In a mid-season blockbuster, Gilbert was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Rashard Lewis. Many hoped the move would be beneficial for both sides, but it didn't quite pan out that way. For the first time in his career, Gil was part of a 50-win team, but inconsistent minutes, inconsistent play and knee tendonitis plagued his time with the Magic. With the money that is owed to Gil, it's unlikely that he'll play in a different uniform anytime soon, so there are a lot of decisions the Magic have to make about their future moving forward.
Gilbert finished the season with a 6-game series against the Atlanta Hawks. Making an appearance in 5 of the games, Gil wore three different colorways of the Air Jordan XI, the Nike Air Trainer SC and the Air Go LWP. Playing on a team that had greater expectations than 6 playoff games, he probably had another trick or two up his sleeve, but it wasn't in the cards.
Nevertheless, Gilbert's game-by-game sneaker selections have been fun to follow throughout the season. It was something unlike anything we've seen in the NBA, especially in the endorsement era. Kobe Bryant had a nice run in 2003, but didn't break out as many pairs as Gil and was generally being sent shoes instead of pulling from his own collection. Gil is one of the most unique individuals in the league, and he once again showed us why this year.
Take a look at all of Gilbert's shoes from this season, beginning in November and ending last night. Keep checking Sole Collector for Nick's detailed performance-related post on Gil's kicks.
November 5, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 9 Premio
November 6, 2010 - Nike Air Max Penny I "Orlando"
November 10, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 12 CDP "Taxi"
November 12, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 12 CDP "Taxi"
November 13, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 11 "Space Jam"
November 16, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 11 "Space Jam" & Air Jordan Retro 9 "Silver Anniversary"
November 17, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 11 "Space Jam" & Nike Air Max 3/Air Garnett III
November 19, 2010 - Nike Air Max 3/Air Garnett III
November 21, 2010 - Reebok ATR Make It Rain
November 23, 2010 - Jordan CMFT Max Air 12
November 25, 2010 - Jordan CMFT Max Air 12
November 27, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 11 Low IE "Argon Blue"
November 29, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 11 "Silver Anniversary"
December 1, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 5 "Raging Bull"
December 3, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 10 - "Ice Blue"
December 5, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 9 "Citrus"
December 7, 2010 - Dolce & Gabbana Hi-Top
December 8, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 2 "University Blue"
December 10, 2010 - Nike Air More Uptempo
December 14, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 13 "Flint"
December 16, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 6 Low & Under Armour Micro G Supreme
December 20, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 12 "Nubuck"
December 21, 2010 - Nike Air Max Penny I "Orlando"
December 23, 2010 - Nike Air More Uptempo
December 25, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 9 Premio
December 27, 2010 - Nike Air Max 3/Air Garnett III
December 28, 2010 - Air Jordan Retro 11 "Space Jam"
December 30, 2010 - FILA Grant Hill
January 3, 2011 - Nike Zoom Flight 95
January 5, 2011 - Reebok Question PE
January 7, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 8 Low "Chrome"
January 8, 2011 - Under Armour Micro G Lite
January 12, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 14
January 13, 2011 - Nike Air Max CB34 "Glass Blue"
January 15, 2011 - Nike Air Max 2 CB '94
January 17, 2011 - Nike DT Max '96
January 19. 2011 - Nike Air Penny II
January 21, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 9 "Silver Anniversary"
January 22, 2011 - Under Armour Micro G Lite
January 24, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 6 "Oreo"
January 26, 2011 - Nike Air Max Penny I "Phoenix"
January 28, 2011 - Jordan CMFT Max Air 12 "Fresh Water"
January 31, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 5 LS
February 3, 2011 - Nike Air Foamposite One "Penny"
February 4, 2011 - Jordan 6 Rings "Foamposite"
February 6, 2011 - Jordan 6 Rings "Foamposite"
February 8, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 11 Low "Blue Snakeskin"
February 9, 2011 - Under Armour Micro G Lite
February 11, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 4 "Military Blue"
February 13, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 11 Low IE "Azure"
February 16, 2011 - Nike Air Flight Falcon
February 23, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 9
February 25, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 6 "Olympic"
February 27, 2011 - Nike Air Trainer SC
March 3, 2011 - Under Armour Micro G Lite
March 4, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 11 Low IE "Cobalt"
March 7, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 13 PE
March 9, 2011 - Reebok Zig Slash "Capital Blue"
March 11, 2011 - Nike Air Flight '89
March 13, 2011 - Air Jordan 2011 "Space Jam"
March 14, 2011 - Nike Air Max 3/Air Garnett III
March 16, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 5 LS
March 21, 2011 - Under Armour Micro G Blur
March 23, 2011 - Nike Air Foamposite One "Penny"
March 25, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 9 "For the Love of the Game"
March 28, 2011 - Nike Air Trainer Huarache
March 30, 2011 - Nike Air Foamposite One "Pewter"
April 5, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 4 "Silver Anniversary" & Air Jordan Retro 13 "Flint"
April 7, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 7 "Chambray"
April 10, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 12 Low "Taxi"
April 17, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 11 "Cool Grey"
April 19, 2011 - Nike Air Trainer SC
April 20, 2011 - Nike Air Go LWP
April 27, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 11 "Silver Anniversary"
April 28, 2011 - Air Jordan Retro 11 "Space Jam"
images via ESPN