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There was something about getting a credential that felt bigger than it probably should have.
Not a press pass to the Super Bowl. Not a backstage lanyard at a concert. Just a laminated badge that said you were supposed to be there, courtside at a Clippers game at Staples Center, in January 2011, because a Chinese shoe brand was launching Baron Davis's signature line for the first time in the US and somebody thought Sole Collector needed to cover it.
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy... there's a camera around my neck and I'm trying to act like a pro at a Clippers game in LA. Or whatever Eminem said…
Baron Davis in his signature sneaker, the Li-Ning Defend.
Baron Davis in the Li-Ning Defend.
That somebody was right. But standing under the basket on the baseline trying to figure out how to shoot it while actual NBA players ran actual NBA plays right in front of you... the imposter syndrome was real. The photos prove it. I have the rest of the shots from that night on a hard drive somewhere that will make an even more fun “throwback Thursday” post someday.
What the photos also capture, if you look past the shaky framing and the learning-curve lighting, is something that felt genuinely alive. Li-Ning handed out shoes to fans on the way in. Clipper Darrell showed up in full gear, swapped out his old kicks for a fresh pair of the Defend right there in the team store. Baron Davis played in them that night. And the whole thing had this energy underneath it, this we're building something and we don't care if you believe us yet feeling that you either picked up on or you didn't.
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What the photos also capture, if you look past the shaky framing and the learning-curve lighting, is something that felt genuinely alive. Li-Ning handed out shoes to fans on the way in. Clipper Darrell showed up in full gear, swapped out his old kicks for a fresh pair of the Defend right there in the team store. Baron Davis played in them that night. And the whole thing had this energy underneath it, this we're building something and we don't care if you believe us yet feeling that you either picked up on or you didn't.
Baron Davis in the Li-Ning Defend & Eric Bledsoe in the Nike LeBron 8.
Clipper Darrell lacing up the Li-Ning Defend.
That was the thing about being part of Sole Collector back then. You weren't covering sneakers from a distance. You were in it, alongside the people making things happen, writing about what you actually cared about, photographing what you actually wanted to photograph, staying up too late on the forums comparing notes with people who cared just as much as you did. Nobody was getting rich. Nobody was optimizing for reach. It was just people who loved this thing, making something together.
Fifteen years later, Li-Ning just signed Stephen Curry to a 10-year deal. The brand that handed out shoes to Clippers fans on a January night in 2011 is now one of the most powerful players in basketball footwear on the planet.
It's worth stopping to appreciate that arc.
Do you remember the first time a non-Nike, non-adidas brand made you actually pay attention, the first time you thought, wait, these people might be onto something?
-Nick
P.S. – If you’re into sneakers on the business side, I released my first “State of Sneakers” report today over on The Sneaker Newsletter. Let me know what you think.
Baron Davis in the Li-Ning Defend.
I met my now friend Franklin at this game. What up Franklin!
Clipper fans with Li-Ning Thunder Sticks.