The Signature Shoe Battle (That You Can’t Buy)

We’ve got a sneaker showdown between two rising NBA stars—Shea Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton—but here’s the catch: neither of their signature shoes are actually available.

And that tells us a lot about where the basketball footwear business is right now.

Why Are These Shoes Still Missing?

I keep getting asked:
Why isn’t the Puma Haliburton shoe out?
Why is Converse still teasing Shai’s kicks with zero drop?

Here’s what’s happening:

• Timing is everything in sports retail. The core buyer for basketball shoes is a youth or high school player. Their buying season? Back-to-school and tip-off. (Same dynamic I saw working on football—by the Super Bowl, most kids have stopped playing.)

• Add in COVID-era supply chain drag + ongoing tariff complications, and footwear production becomes a logistical mess.

• Air freighting shoes just to hit a moment? That killss your margins. Sometimes you do it anyway—but not always.

And while I’m all for a good teaser campaign, Converse might be over teasing it. At some point, anticipation turns into annoyance.

Puma’s Secret Weapon
Today, Puma officially unveiled the Haliburton Hali 1—and it’s got a nice twist. The design fingerprints of Salehe Bembury (Puma’s creative director) are all over it, especially that signature wavy sole.

Smart move. Halliburton may not be a Tier 1 signature athlete yet, but Salehe’s hype adds instant clout. It’s a brand strategy play: pair rising talent with a power creative to blend performance and culture.

The delay? Likely a mix of perfecting fit + safety for game use and avoiding the nightmare scenario of a blowout or mid-game swap. They’re playing the long game—and protecting the product. Frustrating for fans, but settling for the legal & product team.

Signature Shoe Market: Two Strategies, Two Stories
Converse is betting on Shai as a true signature guy. He’s got the aura. He can carry a brand.

Puma is taking a different route—design-forward collab energy paired with a player still building his star. It’s a hedge and a hybrid. And a smart one.

Final Thought: A New Era, Ready or Not
This NBA Finals might pull the lowest ratings in years. But at some point, we’ve got to rip the band-aid off the Steph & LeBron era.
Shai vs. Haliburton may not have the legacy drama, but it’s a fresh slate for team basketball—and for brands testing new bets on what sells next.

Recap:

• The real buying windows: July–September and November–December

• Converse = signature star strategy

• Puma = creative co-sign meets performance

• Sneaker brands are still adjusting to a post-COVID, tariff-heavy supply chain world. Drops are slower—but hopefully it makes everyone smarter & more selective.

Education:
The BrandFathers new episode is out NOW: This week The Brandfathers cover the hottest marketing campaigns in May.

Or, you can always visit HowToGetAJobAtNike.com for some of my career resources & advice as well.

Blessings:

Growing up, we assume many things about adulthood. Then, life “hits you in the mouth” as Mike Tyson reminds us.
For me? I always imagined that I would be a sports dad with two kids and throw my kids in a pool. A very specific and vague imagination from my youth, I know.

After a tumultuous dating life (I suppose all dating is tumultuous), then suffering four miscarriages with my wife, that vision started to blur.
But, this week, I’m at Big Cedar Lodge with my wife and two beautiful children. We’ve been on the lake, the golf course and explored the incredible greenery in this beautiful part of Missouri. We’ve laughed & loved & laid in the sun.
All of this is to say, that life can turn in any direction at any time. While the human brain is prone to worrying about the downside turns, upside turns are just as possible especially if we put steps in place to increase those odds. That could be recovery, therapy, spirituality, nutrition, fitness and many other things. God’s grace & goodness perhaps supersedes all of these. And there is no greater beneficiary of that grace than me and I pray you are too!