Josh Giddey’s new PUMA All-Pro NITRO 2 “Wonder” colorway is built around a simple idea: bring a piece of Australia with him every time he steps on the floor.
The Chicago Bulls guard said the design grew out of the Great Barrier Reef, with the natural wonder serving as the starting point for the shoe’s look. From there, the project leaned into the colors and feel of Australia’s coastline, tying the sneaker back to where Giddey is from.
“I’m Australian, and we wanted to find a way to connect back to home with the shoe. And that was what we came up with, and yeah, as I said, then the next part was about figuring out colors and design, but the overall base of the shoe came from the Great Barrier Reef, and we wanted to be able to tie that back into where I’m from.”
For Giddey, the light blue tones stood out immediately. He said that shade has always been his favorite to wear, which made seeing it on his player-exclusive especially meaningful.
“I think the color - I’ve always envisioned it. That’s always been my favorite color to wear; it’s been, like, a light blue.
So, to be able to have that on my PE is really special, and that’s something I was really excited to see how it turned out. I’m really happy with how it did.”
The shoe also reflects something bigger for Giddey: a way to stay connected to home while playing in the NBA. He said coming from Australia can make the league feel far away at first, and that wearing something tied to his roots matters to him.
“I think it’s coming from Australia; the NBA seems very far-fetched and seems like it’s a long, long way away from possibility. I wanted to always where I came from, where it started for me as a young kid.”
“And I’m so far away from home when I’m in America, I think being able to have some connection, whether it’s doing it through a shoe, my own PE was a pretty special way to do it. So, yeah, I always love representing my country, being Australian, representing them on this stage here.”
Giddey also said the process with PUMA gave him more input than he expected. He described the brand as interactive throughout the partnership and said that involvement was a big reason he signed on.
“It’s been great. I was obviously with Nike for my first four or so years in the NBA, so to make that switch was a pretty big change for me. But I wore the shoes a lot before I made the decision, and I loved them first and foremost.”
“Then, obviously, you got to meet everybody on the team in the basketball world for the U.S. Yes, nothing but good things so far, and I’m really excited for what’s ahead.”
“Oh, a lot, a lot. And that’s one of the big reasons I started to sign with them.
They were really interactive. They spoke to me a lot throughout the process, and then, especially when designing the shoe, they gave me a lot of creative input.”
“So that was one of the things I was really, really happy and excited about. I’ve always wanted to do was have my own shoes.
So, to be able to be involved in that process and for them to involve me the way they did. It was really special, and it was a fun thing to be able to go through.”
When asked why the design stood out, Giddey pointed to the desire to make something different.
“Yeah, kind of what you said, kind of just to be unique. It’s been done, but to do something a little out of the ordinary kind of changes it up a bit.
So, yeah, you kind of set it pretty well. Just want it to be a bit different and unique.”
He said he doesn’t follow the sneaker world as closely as he once did, though that wasn’t always the case.
“Yeah, not as much anymore. I did. I used to a lot, but I kind of fazed out of the sneaker game a bit.”
Giddey also named the PUMA athletes who stood out to him before he joined the brand. LaMelo Ball was the first major athlete he noticed with PUMA, and Tyrese Haliburton later gave him another familiar face inside the company.
“Whoa, good question. I think for me, I’m not going to say younger, because this guy’s only a year older than me, but LaMelo Ball was the first big athlete I saw signed at PUMA.”
“So, when I saw him, and then obviously Tyrese (Haliburton) is with them now as well, and they’re two guys I had had connections with over the years. So, to talk to them and hear all the good things they had to say about PUMA helped me.”
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