Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Debuts A New Lace-Up Build For The Converse SHAI 001

Yes, an NBA championship, an MVP award, and a Finals MVP trophy certainly are nice, but the real capper on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s monster year has been the SHAI 001. What good is celebrating all those accolades if you can’t do it in your own shoe? While the gap between what looked like an unbeatable Thunder team and their potential playoff opponents has slimmed as we’ve torn toward the end of the season, OKC and their leader still remain odds-on favorites for repeat performances, and his SHAI 001 is similarly in plum position.

The SHAI 001 “Camo,” imminently coming to shelves, is tangible proof of the bigger swings that SGA and the Converse Hoops team are taking with his signature shoe. Yet the point guard’s love for fashion has allowed us a window into the future, and potentially even more experimental fare coming down the pike. As the Thunder took on the Celtics, Shai stepped out in a Cam’ron-inspired fit that included a brand new look for the SHAI 001, ditching its trademark lace shroud and equally definitional monochromatic aesthetic. A patch of neutral tonality runs across the overlays where the pointed covering usually sits on previous editions.

In the name of proper background, we’ll note that this isn’t technically the first we’ve seen of this new tooling. In a knowing Instagram blast nodding to his “never having shopped in a grocery store,” SGA wore a similar lace-up pair, this time carrying a far zanier combination of oranges, yellows, blues, and leopard print. If we were betting people, we’d say this is more likely an exclusive, if only for how outside of the usual aesthetic it takes the shoe.

As we get official confirmation on whether either of these referenced colorways for the Converse SHAI 001 will be coming to the market, we’ll keep this page and our Sneaker Release Dates hub up to date. Catch paparazzi shots from the Boston “tunnel walk” below.