Donovan Mitchell Shoes Pay Tribute To Favorite Superhero, NBA Journey

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Last week, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell released his first signature shoe, the Adidas D.O.N. Issue #1.

Being a shoe guy, I had to get a pair, and my co-host of SportsBeat Afterhours, Hema Heimuli, Jr., felt the same.

We ordered a pair and they showed up earlier this week. We finally had a chance to get together and take a look at our new prize and the shoes are awesome!

We aren’t the only ones who think so. Within 24 hours of the shoes launching on the Adidas website, they were sold out.

WE FINALLY HAVE THEM IN HAND!

We'll be unboxing the D.O.N. Issue #1's later tonight and break down all the details that Spida put into his first signature sneaker. pic.twitter.com/Lvmb8TYwU4

— SBAH 2.0 (@SBAfterhours) July 12, 2019

Mitchell was adamant in wanting to keep the shoe at a low cost (it’s the cheapest signature shoe on the market at $100) but he was able to include a ton of detail that pays tribute to his favorite superhero, Spider-Man, and include a few nods to himself, and his journey to the NBA.

Spider-Man

Mitchell’s shoe is part of a collaboration between Marvel and Adidas during the 2019 NBA playoffs.

Adidas’ three signature athletes are James Harden, Damian Lillard and Mitchell.

With Mitchell’s nickname being ‘Spida’, Spider-Man was an easy choice.

Classic hotel bag mix-up, but I’m totally cool with it. @tomholland1996 Can I keep it? #SpiderManFromHome #ad pic.twitter.com/02bBATSTE8

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) June 25, 2019

The most obvious nod to Spider-Man is the color of the shoe – red and blue. The shoe features Mitchell’s ‘Spida’ logo on the tongue, and the underside of the web has a spider web pattern.

Adidas also put a spin on the classic ‘three-stripes’ and patterned them to look like spider webs.

Donovan Mitchell

Mitchell had to include a few nods to himself with his first signature shoe.

On the outside of the shoe, Mitchell has the numbers 36.5 and 40.5 which are his standing and running verticals at the NBA combine. Also included are two rows of dots – four on top and five on the bottom – in honor of his number, 45.

On the back heel is the message ‘No Limits’ to remind himself to continue to push himself as an athlete, even though he already has his own shoe, his NBA journey is far from over.

https://t.co/15PHZBS0KA pic.twitter.com/V1hS0V5Luv

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) July 11, 2019

Mitchell’s Journey to the NBA

Speaking of his journey, the sole of the D.O.N. Issue #1 pays tribute to Mitchell’s journey to the NBA.

The three coded messages are:

80/A:DR [WBR] NH

1-AP-LV:KY

1901-MST/W/S-NC

It might not make a ton of sense, but we got to the bottom of it. Mitchell played high school basketball at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The first code is the address for the school 80 Academy Drive, Wolfeboro, NH.

The second number is a nod to his time at the University of Louisville. The school’s basketball arena – KFC Yum! Arena is located at 1 Arena Plaza, Louisville, Kentucky.

The third number was tricky to crack. 1901 MST is military time for the time of day he was selected by the Utah Jazz.

Hema and I couldn’t figure out what W/S-NC meant, but the answer is Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Mitchell’s Tie to North Carolina

North Carolina is where Mitchell realized he was ready to play in the NBA.

He was participating in the CP3 Elite Guard camp after declaring for the draft – even though he wasn’t quite sure he was ready – he was told by both Chris Paul and Paul George that he was ready to make the jump, and that was when he made the decision to stay in the draft.

Like I said, a lot of really cool details that pay tribute to Mitchell and his basketball journey.

You can watch the full video review and unboxing of the shoes below.

We wanted to share the excitement with a lucky Utah Jazz fan. We are giving away a pair of the D.O.N. Issue #1 and will announce contest details soon.

Follow us on twitter, @SBAfterhours for details.