The basketball community lost its collective mind on Wednesday night when Duke Blue Devils star Zion Williamson was injured after blowing out a pair of Nike basketball shoes in a rivalry game against the University of North Carolina.
Williamson’s injury was such that shares of Nike actually fell come Thursday. Meanwhile, the debate about whether Williamson should continue to play for free in the NCAA raged on all day.
Of course Williamson was wearing Paul George’s signature shoe when he experienced the blowout, which apparently prompted the Oklahoma City Thunder star to contact Nike about it.
Via Twitter:
Paul George on Zion Williamson’s injury and situation with his shoes, says he talked with Nike to find out what went wrong: pic.twitter.com/pJ3N6CEdMj
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) February 21, 2019
George’s shoes are very popular across basketball, and he told reporters that this had never happened to his knowledge.
I do wonder if players will be more reticent to wear one of the more popular shoes in the NBA. Then again, Williamson is a freak of nature in of himself so it’s not likely that the forces created by his power would be exerted by a normal player in the league.