Adidas J Wall 2: John Wall Signature Shoe Revealed with Release Date
John Wall's second signature shoe is upon us, and it comes with more personal touch than ever before. Adidas formally announced the J Wall 2 release Tuesday, with the home colorway arriving in stores Oct. 31 and the away coming a week later:
Wall, 24, left Reebok for Adidas in 2013. Last year saw the first signature release of their relationship, which drew raves for its performance and a number of post-release support via different colorways. While the first iteration was known for its bright and bold colorways—the "Sky Blue" stood out as a particular favorite—Wall decided his second release would hit closer to home.
Each shoe will come engraved with a personal message, all representing different aspects of Wall's life. There is "Mama's Boy," which will honor his mother, who "instilled within him the purpose of becoming the best person he can be," according to WeAreTesters.com. "Five Deep" will honor Wall's childhood friends, "Great Wall" is inspired by the point guard himself and "Raleigh & 919" are representative of his home town and area code.
The initials JSW will also be on the tongue liner in honor of Wall's father, who died of liver cancer in 1999.
“We wanted to create a shoe that helps my game and represents my style,” Wall said. “The shoe really shows what I love about fashion with loud colors and bold designs. Every part of the shoe is made to help how I play the game but it’s also made for fans who want to stand out on the court and represent with style off it.”
Named the Wizards captain before the 2014-15 season, Wall averaged 17.6 points, 10.0 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game en route to making his second straight All-Star team. He was also named an All-Defensive selection for the first time, continuing his ascent among the game's best point guards.
“John isn’t afraid of showing us who he is, and our goal was to create a shoe that was as explosive as his game,” said Brian Foresta, vice president Global Design, Adidas Basketball. “We introduced new ways of pairing textures and patterns to reflect his unique sense of style but still focused on building a shoe geared for one of the fastest in the game.”
With this release, Wall and Adidas hope to continue carving their niche within the basketball world as they come at Nike's throne. As stars like Wall and recently signed James Harden continue their ascent, the future appears bright for Adidas Basketball.
The J Wall 2s will retail for $115 and be available at most major outlets.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter
