Spencer Dinwiddie Talks Designing Sneakers, Feeling Like 'Outcast' Without Deal

Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie recently agreed to a three-year, $34 million extension, a measure of the immense growth he's made since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2014. 

But despite his growing success in the league, Dinwiddie remains without one of the staple perks that comes with being an NBA player: a shoe deal. So instead, Dinwiddie has taken measures into his own hands, designing his very own sneaker in a collaboration with Project Dream.

"You definitely kind of feel like an outcast," he told Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. "But that led me to this journey so I wouldn't trade it. Obviously if I had a shoe deal the whole time there probably wouldn't have been as much need for me to go down that path and let my mind kind of wonder if it was even possible. So in a lot of ways I would say thank you."

The project has taken off. As Vorkunov noted, Dinwiddie's K8IROS sneakers sell for up to $160 a pair, and Dinwiddie has committed to wearing a different design for every game this season, already sporting sneakers that have featured designs of Colin Kaepernick, Harriet Tubman, Nelson Mandela, Yu Yu Hakusho and more.

Dinwiddie told Vorkunov he's made more on the retail of his original designs than he did when he formally had a shoe deal with Nike, and the money he makes from auctioning off his game-worn shoes is donated to scholarship funds.

But Dinwiddie is enjoying his new project too, another benefit of designing his own sneakers:

"It's fun, man. You could do whatever you want. People like to sometimes draw distinctions between brands and things like that but you gotta remember a lot of these are owned by the same company. A lot of these are under one huge-ass umbrella. You're like, 'I'm with this person. I'm not with this person.' But they're the same people. Jordan, Nike, Converse, I guess they're all the same."

On the court, Dinwiddie is having another excellent season. After a breakout campaign last season, Dinwiddie has taken another step this year, averaging 17.2 points and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three. 

Last year, Dinwiddie was a finalist for the NBA's Most Improved Player award, which ultimately went to Indiana's Victor Oladipo. This year, he's an early candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, as he's been coming off the bench for Brooklyn and making a huge impact for the team.

Dinwiddie has gone from an end-of-the-bench player to one of the league's most improved players and a vital rotation piece for Brooklyn, all while designing his shoes. Suffice it to say, it's been the road less traveled.