Donovan Mitchell just opened his custom kicks from adidas for tonight’s Rising Star Challenge. pic.twitter.com/GSNVzJkCf8
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) February 17, 2018
Los Angeles • It was years ago when a teammate’s father first called Donovan Mitchell “Spida.”
Sometimes there’s more of a yarn to a nickname. Sometimes that’s it.
“It stuck,” he said. “That was the name he gave me, and he hasn’t called me my given name since.”
Mitchell has bought in fully to the theme, and so has Adidas. The sneaker company, which signed Mitchell after he turned pro, sent a special package to the Staples Center on Friday afternoon before the Rising Stars Challenge. Inside: a shirt with a “Spida” logo written in web font and a pair of custom Dame 4s (his standard in-game shoe model).
The shoes, which he wore during the first half of Friday’s exhibition, draw on the comic book web-slinger for inspiration, adhering to the classic Spider-Man red-and-blue color scheme while adding touches like “Spida” written on the heel.
“On the inside, they have ‘Spida‘ written on them,” he said. “They have little Spider-Man logos. It’s pretty cool.”
One of the most interesting things about the package was the bag the shoes came in. It appeared to have a spider-shaped logo coming out of the letter “M.” Is that just a specialized custom touch or potentially a glimpse into some future project Adidas has with Mitchell?
This looks awfully like a logo prototype specific to Donovan Mitchell pic.twitter.com/hNtQDGmadZ
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) February 17, 2018
That question remained unanswered Friday. But Mitchell said he anticipates more to come.
“It’s been amazing. I’ve been really happy to be with Three Stripes,” he said. “Hopefully it’s a long partnership, and I’m really excited.”
