During the Bucks and the Warriors game, Wesley Matthews had his shoes explode similar to the incident Zion Williamson had last year when he was playing for Duke. Both incidents are similar since both incidents was caused by the separation of the upper of the shoe and the midsole of the shoe. Usually glue is used to connect the stroble board, midsole and the upper however the bonding wasn’t strong enough to withstand the force Welsey Matthew’s foot was putting in.
The reason this incident should be treated more seriously is due the physique of Wesley Matthews. The Zion incident was more forgivable given the fact that Zion was a 285lb player playing a shoe that is made for mostly quick guards or light forwards. The shoe was never built to be worn by a player that has the size of a power forward but moves like a guard. However, Wesley Matthews stands at 6″4 and weights 220lbs. It is fair to say he is a typical guard/small forward in the NBA. The fact it happened to him out of all players should be a concern to Nike that quality isn’t up to standards.
This is both bad for the players endorsed by Nike and the company itself. Luckily, Wesley Matthews came out of the incident without an injury, last time it happened to Zion he had to sit out the entire game due to injuring his knee from the shoe breaking apart. The low quality of shoes made by Nike can risk injuries to the players and for the brand, there is nothing good about them being labelled as a company that doesn’t value quality.
There hasn’t been news on what the cause of the shoe breaking was but it should be a warning to Nike that they have to ensure the factories that are producing the shoes are up to standard. If Nike fails, less players will sign a endorsement with Nike and eventually lose its dominance over basketball shoes in the league.
SNEAKER SPECULATION 