Joel Embiid’s new Skechers, the brand’s first signature basketball shoe, have dropped: ‘It means a lot’
Joel Embiid met with fans at Lapstone & Hammer ahead of the global release of his new signature SKX JE1 sneakers.
After driving hours from Connecticut, 25-year-old Tristan Howard walked toward the back of Lapstone & Hammer with a large canvas covered in wrapping paper. He approached Sixers center Joel Embiid with the gift, and the former league MVP gladly accepted — opening the present on the spot.
As the wrapping paper slowly fell to the floor, a painting of Embiid was revealed. The 7-foot center could be seen dunking on an opponent with one hand while holding his MVP trophy in the other, wearing sunglasses, sporting his Olympic gold medal — and of course, wearing his new Skechers shoe, the SKX JE1.
“I know he’s a very powerful player,” Howard said. “So him dunking the ball is very important. And I know that he won a gold medal and was MVP. So, I wanted to incorporate that somehow. And then obviously the new shoe, I put that on him. I’m happy with how it came out.”
Howard, who happens to be a New York sports fan, spent six hours the night before painting the gift for Embiid. It was one way the Sixers player was able to celebrate the launch of his latest sneaker and Skechers first-ever signature basketball shoe.
“It means a lot [to have a signature shoe], especially when you look at where I come from, everything that I’ve been through, and what it took to get here,” Embiid said in a news release. “I always say, my life is a movie, everything happened so fast, one thing after another. Honestly, I wasn’t even supposed to be here. So, to be sitting here now, with my own shoe, it just shows that people believed in me. And that feels great. It’s truly amazing.”
» READ MORE: How do Joel Embiid’s new Skechers shoes compare to other Philly athletes’ signature kicks?
The shoe was released exclusively at Lapstone & Hammer on Saturday, just a day before Embiid debuted his new sneakers during the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Wednesday’s event gave fans another chance to purchase the shoes ahead of its global release on Thursday.
And as a way to celebrate the release in the city, Embiid met with a number of those fans at the Center City store, signing sneakers and posing for photos. Sixers forward Jabari Walker, a fellow Skechers athlete, even made an appearance to show his support.
“The message I want to send is that anything is possible,” Embiid added. “When you look at where I started, I wasn’t even supposed to play basketball — I was playing volleyball. And now, here I am. I’m just so thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had.
“Like I said earlier, this shoe represents the belief that people had in me. It’s about showing that as long as you put the work in, you can achieve your goals — you can achieve anything you want. That’s what happened to me, and that’s what I want for others.”
The design, according to Skechers, is inspired by Embiid’s non-traditional path to the NBA. It features an abstract multidirectional traction pattern with their signature Goodyear outsole and a mesh body with a 3D-printed silicon lockdown cage. The three heel points represent Embiid’s three keys of life: heritage, sports, and family.
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George finally shared the floor. And the Sixers have a lot of work to do.
“I’ve been working with Skechers on fine-tuning every detail of the SKX JE1 and I’m excited to share it with the world,” Embiid said in the release. “Skechers strives for excellence in performance and comfort, so I couldn’t ask for a better partner in creating this signature shoe.”
In addition to being on sale at Lapstone & Hammer, the SKX JE1s are now available at Skechers.com, select Skechers stores, and other specialty retailers. They retail for $130.