PHOTOS:, First look at Ja Morant’s Nike logo

Ja Morant is getting his signature shoe.

Nike reportedly will be working with the Memphis Grizzlies’ star point guard on a signature line of sneakers after dropping Kyrie Irving on Monday, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium:

Morant, 23, has emerged as one of the NBA’s brightest young stars since being drafted No. 2 overall by Memphis in 2019. He’s shown improvement every season and has been superb in the 2022-23 campaign, averaging 28.5 points, 7.5 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.

That makes him highly marketable, so getting a signature shoe seemed like an inevitability. The end of Irving’s relationship with Nike potentially accelerated the process.

Irving, 30, had one of Nike’s most popular signature shoe lines over the years, but the company suspended him on Nov. 4 after he amplified an antisemitic film on social media. After Irving refused to denounce antisemitism and apologize for his actions on more than one occasion while speaking with reporters, Nike took action, and Irving was suspended as well by the Nets.

“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” the company said in a statement at the time. “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”

Irving is now a sneaker free agent, a fact he didn’t seem to be lamenting on social media Monday:

It remains to be seen if Irving will land another shoe or apparel deal and whether his actions surrounding his promotion of the antisemitic film will affect his appeal for those companies.

That makes him highly marketable, so getting a signature shoe seemed like an inevitability. The end of Irving’s relationship with Nike potentially accelerated the process.

Irving, 30, had one of Nike’s most popular signature shoe lines over the years, but the company suspended him on Nov. 4 after he amplified an antisemitic film on social media. After Irving refused to denounce antisemitism and apologize for his actions on more than one occasion while speaking with reporters, Nike took action, and Irving was suspended as well by the Nets.

“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” the company said in a statement at the time. “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”

Irving is now a sneaker free agent, a fact he didn’t seem to be lamenting on social media Monday:

It remains to be seen if Irving will land another shoe or apparel deal and whether his actions surrounding his promotion of the antisemitic film will affect his appeal for those companies.

“It’s happening,” said sneaker analyst Chris Burns, who lives in Memphis. “When his signature shoe starts selling, it has the potential to be what Kyrie’s was the first three years.”

Nike hasn’t confirmed that Morant is getting a signature shoe, but NBA reporter Shams Charania on Monday tweeted that one is expected and the “parties have been working on this for several months.”

Sole Retriever first reported on the Morant shoe in September. 

The anticipated shoe comes as Nike looks to build on the recent success of its GT Cut basketball shoe and remain the dominant force in basketball as rivals Adidas, Puma, and Under Armour look to gain market share. 

Adidas, as one example, recently named Bjorn Gulden CEO. He previously worked as chief executive at Puma, where he had success building the company’s basketball division. Nike previously suspended its relationship with Irving after he posted a link to an antisemitic film on Twitter. He subsequently removed the post and apologized. 

Nike did not immediately respond to questions from Insider about plans for a Morant shoe, but his electric style of play would boost the company’s roster of basketball endorsers with signature shoes, which already includes superstars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant.  

“He’s the future,” Burns said of Morant. 

Signature shoes come with risks, including the costs of the deals, the possibility of injury to the endorser, the expense of building high-performance sneakers from the ground up, and the potential for corporate embarrassment if a star misbehaves.