Fear of God x Adidas Is DEAD, Still Waiting On Kobe, WNBA Is The Sneaker Mecca, and More

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Yo yo yo, welcome to Hard Pass. I am your host, Jacques Slate. It's good to be back after a week off. So today on the show, we've got Jerry Lorenzo and Adidas signing off, WNBA season kicking off, Dwayne Wade, and Lee Ning showing off the week's highest releases, and of course, we've got Ohara Pass. All right, so let's start the show with some hot takes. So the long and sorted saga of Jerry Lorenzo, Fear of God Athletics, and Adidas has come to an unsatisfying conclusion with the release of the Fear of God Athletics Basketball 3 in the Cinder colorway. There will be no more future drops from Fear God and Adidas as a joint entity. And I guess all we can say is what took so long. After the initial hype of Jerry signing on with Adidas, it's been a cycle of delay and underwhelm and delay and underwhelm and so on and so on. Not a single piece from this collection has resonated with the community in a way that say Jerry's Fear of God Essentials has resonated with the Pack Sun crowd. The sneakers felt too late. The energy was muted from the jump. And every time Jerry or people at Adidas talked about the partnership, it felt like a couple that knew things were not going to work out and were just staying together for the kids, aka waiting until the contract ran out. And that's a bummer, man. We need voices and creatives like Jerry at Adidas driving the culture. The key phrase being like Jerry. Whatever issue that took place behind the scenes, it was clear early on that this was not what we all hoped it would have been. We're hoping that it won't be the end of Adus collaborating with a brand that is on or above Fear of God's level and a personality that is as strong as Jerry's. All right, keeping it on the Adidas side of things. They have been cooking these NBA playoffs. First off, we've got Anthony Edwards debuting his first takedown sneaker, the Adidas believe that one in the Minnesota Timberwolves game one win against the San Antonio Spurs. Not sure how we feel about the Wolves after what happened in game two, but those believe that ones were super clean and I think have plenty of potential to be a sneaker that will dominate on the court during the summertime. Like like you know how low-key popular the Giannis immortality line is in a way that makes us think those might be the actual Giannis signature line. Well, I got a hunch we could be looking at something similar with Ant-Man. But he's not the only three stripes man debuting new footwear.

[00:02:15]Donovan Mitchell once again emphasizes Spider-Man fandom with a teaser of him doing the Spidey pointing meme before debuting the Adidas Dawn issue 8 in spider colors. I feel like we say this every year, but could this be the year Mitchell's signature line really takes off? The design has me curious about future colorways. The Cavs might have a chance to do real damage in these playoffs despite the game one loss to the Detroit Pistons. And he's got a proven playoff performer, James Harden, along with him. Caveat being we don't ask him to shoot in game sevens anymore.

[00:02:46]Dwayne Wade, he was at the Met Gala.

[00:02:49]Shocking, I know, but the fashion guy is at the show with the most fashion. We get it. But what was a little surprising was his decision to bring sneakers to the event. It's not that sneakers are not welcome at the Met Gala like legends like Serena Williams and the late Virgil Ablo to even George freaking Lucas have worn sneakers on the red carpet. It's just that they are either one-off Nikes or Jordans or in the case of Lucas, probably the first thing he saw in his closet that matched his suit. D.Wade is out here with the lovely Gabrielle Union in the leaning way of Wade, Wade County lifestyle sneaker, and it fit right in with all the other fancy footwear that was on display at the gala. It didn't need to pop off like an Off-White Air Force One or have the pedigree of an Air Jordan. It was clean and a simple lifestyle sneaker that fit right in. And that matters because someone sees these sneakers and considers buying leaning for the first time, that's a big deal.

[00:03:39]I'm sure most of the commentary about Dwight at the Met Gala is going to center on everything but the shoes. But to us, those sneakers are another sign that people stateside need to stop sleeping on leaning and antis. Man, every day that passes that there is no official Kobe brand from Nike or a signature shoe for Jaylen Brunson means that it's unlikely to ever happen. But man, I guess it's not that bad because the player exclusives that Jaylen has been showing out are some of the best we've ever seen. We might not be hitting Demar D. Rozan or PJ Tucker levels yet, but it's close. I mean, we've got remixes of the Statue of Liberty, a tribute to his child, a Star Wars themed pair, and most recently, an icy cold Kobe 3. We're out here in 2026 loving the Kobe 3s. Would you have seen that one coming? I didn't. It's so It's strange, but it's cool at the same time.

[00:04:32]Anyway, great work by Nike to keep us interested. Great work by Jaylen as the Knicks are likely headed to the East Finals and beyond at the rate they're going. Now, we just need these sneakers to release. If you're not going to give us the Kobe brand or the Jaylen signature shoe, at least give us a shot at these, Nike. Gosh. All right, before we get to the pick of the week, let's check in on someone Adidas should seriously consider being a featured athlete. I'm talking, of course, about Andre Kimmy Anteneelli, the current leader in the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship. Earlier this year, we talked about Anteneelli picking up his first win of his career and how Adidas should be keeping a close eye on the 19-year-old's development. Well, two races and two wins later and we're just going to go ahead and say it. Adidas Kimmy Anteneelli is a future world champion and it would be brand malfcence on your part to either let him sign with another brand or not follow him wherever he might go next should Mercedes failed to deliver him a car worthy of his talent. Toto Wolf put Anteneelli in a Mercedes car instead of a midfield team after Sir Lewis Hamilton left because he had a hunch that Kimmy had the potential to be the next superstar driver in the vein of Hamilton and Max Versstappen.

[00:05:39]Well, Kimmy is now the youngest leader in the world drivers championship. He's etched his name in the record books alongside legends and former world champions like Eritton Senna and Michael Schumacher by achieving his first three pole positions in succession. Not only that, he combined those three straight pole positions with three straight wins.

[00:05:58]No one's ever done that. Looks like Toto knew what he was doing after all. Look, it's early in the season. I get that.

[00:06:05]Anything can still happen. George Russell can regain his form and confidence and retake the lead in a season where he was finally favored to win the championship. McLaren are starting to figure out their car, and that can only mean Lando Norris and Oscar Postri will be in the championship mix. Despite having what appears to be a mid-level car, Max Versstappen remains a threat every week. Ferrari, well, Ferrari's going to Ferrari. They're good for several podiums and the occasional win in any given year. But man, you got to wonder now if Hamilton is regretting his move after seeing how well Mercedes is doing now. But Kimmy is in the lead and he's the one out there rocking an Anthony Edwards Adidas Y3 basketball jersey and sambas and taking pictures with an Adidas icon and Lion Messi. They have to know what they've got in the kid. Like Messi, maybe Kimmyy's not the person you design a signature shoe around. With Edwards, we're looking for what he's wearing on the court on a nightly basis. We're not exactly screen capping what boots Kimmy has on before or after every race. But Kimmy can be the guy who you send out to wear Bad Bunny's latest collab on the way to the garage or featuring the next Anthony Edwards commercial like Kelsey Plum.

[00:07:12]He's a huge NBA fan and Adidas should parlay that into collaboration with Edwards to grow his popularity in Europe while Anteneelli gets to be seen as a lesser tryhard than Timothy Shamlet states side. If we're here in a few months and Antonyelli has a few more wins and leading the championship by a healthy margin and Adidas does not make plans beyond wearing Y3 collabs, we need to talk to someone in charge at the brand. All right, for our pick of the week, it's the Converse Shade 001 Premium in the ink colorway. These are dropping on the 15th for 150. And this is the latest update to Sha's signature shoe as it receives the leather treatment in a deep blue ink colorway.

[00:07:47]I'm wondering though, I wonder if this has like squid connotations either.

[00:07:51]Sorry. Anyway, now I'm a fan of the Shade 001 as a hooping shoe, but this leather swap makes them feel more like a designer sneaker than ever before. I'm sure it will still be a solid performer on the court, but I do wonder if the added weight will affect how they do.

[00:08:05]The swap to leather also makes them feel more premium and better suited for off the court wear, which is a good thing when it comes to basketball shoes these days. Moving on. So, the WNBA season is kicking off this weekend and this might be the most pivotal year for the league since their debut 30 years ago. That's right. It's the 30th anniversary of the W and it's as popular as it ever been with superstars who are grabbing headlines like their NBA counterparts.

[00:08:29]And if the Paige Beckers and Azy Fud dating saga has taught us anything, the headlines are all over the place and stretch far beyond what happens on the court. By the way, leave those two kids alone, people. Whether they're in a relationship or not at this point is nobody's business but their own. They probably let the world know in the first place so that people would stop asking questions or making innuendo. Now that we know, that's it. It shouldn't be an issue unless we see something on the court that's actually affecting the team. and tell them, let them live their lives. We can be mature about this, people. I I just honestly have zero faith that we will be, though. Anyways, back to the W and the sneaker side of it all. This is the most loaded roster of signature shoe athletes and potential signature shoe athletes that the league has seen since the early days when Cheryl Swoops, Don Staley, Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Lesley, and Cynthia Cooper all had signature kicks. Brianna Stewart, Angel Reese, Sabrina Anescu, and Asia Wilson all have signature lines already. As we go through the season, we'll see what happens with Caitlyn Cart cooking.

[00:09:29]Beckers could be next up for Nike. Fud or Nfishia Collier could be up making history as they are the first women to have a Jordan signature model. And then there's Floj Johnson at Puma and a recently signed Kelsey Plum to Adidas who both have signature potential as well. Are we living in a world where the WNBA's signature lineup could end up being more interesting than what we see in the NBA within the next few years? I wouldn't be mad at it because a good sneaker is a good sneaker no matter who it's coming from. But it's definitely a plot twist that we did not anticipate.

[00:09:59]Speaking of Kelsey Plum, any hopes of a Steph Curry like sneaker-free agency were dashed when she popped up in the latest Anthony Edwards Adidas ad. I shouldn't say that like I'm mad. I'm not mad, I'm happy, but I'm also Anyway, what I'm saying is alongside NBA rookie sensations VJ Edcom and NIL signes like Kate Harping and Elijah Arenas Plum was pitching the Adidas Believe that one.

[00:10:19]Edward's first Takedown model, but she was also the last player mentioned in a shocking manner, like a pro wrestler who just jumped from WWE to AEW or vice versa. The point is, Plum is immediately one of the highest profile WNBA players signed to Adidas. Even if she doesn't get a signature shoe, her PE game should be strong this coming season with exclusive colorways of AES, Dames, Hardens, Dons, and Fur Gods. Okay, definitely not that last one after the news this week, but those other sneakers. Yeah, Sparks Color PE's galores. Let's get into them. While Plum getting a signature line would be interesting because she would be the first since Candace Parker over at Adidas. The two players who we will be keeping an eye on this year are Nfishia Cier and Azy FUD who were over at Jordan Brand. With Zion Williamson's signature line being discontinued, we could be looking at an open spot at the Jump Man where everybody is in play. There's competition on the men's side with stars like Paulo Banchiro, but for the money, the potential to break new ground at the brand could lead us down the path where either Coy or Fud or both in a perfect world. It certainly won't be this year, but by this time next year, maybe would not shock me to see at the very least an announcement that something is on the way. And then there's the Caitlyn Clark of it all. We all know a signature shoe is on the way. I think we're all just look tired is not the word, but we need to see this thing sooner rather than later. This is without a shadow of a doubt the most anticipated current performance basketball shoe that Nike has made since Kobe's went low and then high and then low again. It's not just Hoopers eagerly driving this excitement.

[00:11:53]It's fans of Caitlyn, the WNBA, the culture war dumb asses who will call this shoe a success or failure without ever even wearing the shoe. I am looking forward to that technology that Caitlyn claims will be making their debut on her shoe more than anything else because I want to believe it's the Nike mind pods.

[00:12:10]The idea of seeing those on a basketball shoe intrigues me on so many levels. But I also want to see some new Nike tac that will get us talking in the way that bulbous Air Max bubbles or Nike shocks used to do. It's going to be a big year and we're looking forward to all of it except for the culture warcraft that's going to be on all of our feeds. That can honestly go kick rocks. It's time for this week's hard pass. We take a look at something in the culture that just needs to go. Like Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics. That's right. It's a wrap, y'all. Jaylen Brown has played his final game as a member of Boston Celtics. He has burned every conceivable bridge, ruined any sense of team chemistry, and quite frankly does not seem all that interested in the status quo. So, this past week, the Boston Celtics were eliminated from the NBA playoffs in a very embarrassing fashion.

[00:12:58]I mean, a blown 3-1 lead. Who does that?

[00:13:02]Not the Lakers. No, we don't blow 3-1 leads in the playoffs. We are finishers.

[00:13:07]We get the job done. Don't you dare look up what happened in 2006. As far as we're concerned, that was an aberration that eventually led to winning back-to-back championships a few years later. Now, for the Celtics blowing the 3-1 lead, let's talk about it. You should have seen the group traps I was in. I We us were howling at all of these real Celtics fans who had the nerve to blame Jason Tatum. The same Jason Tatum who should not have come back from a ruptured Achilles so soon. I don't care that doctors cleared him. An injury like that messes with your head and will cause you to favor your other leg unconsciously. And then he goes and suffers stiffness in his other leg and is unable to play in game seven. Tatum always seems to have bad injury luck that cost the Celtics their playoff runs. Why tempt the fate when he's still recovering from an injury the season prior? As amazing as it was to see him back and showing signs of his all NBA self, the right thing should have been sitting him out of this season so he can be ready to go for the 26 27 year. But hey, they did what they did and now they're gone from the playoffs. As a Lakers fan, sometimes it's more enjoyable to see the rivals go down than it is to see us win. This is one of those times, especially since Luca isn't going to be ready for the OKC series.

[00:14:19]Let's just enjoy LeBron's greatness at 41 in this series for well, however long it actually gets to go or however long we get to see it. But back to Jaylen.

[00:14:30]According to Tracy McGrady, Jaylen, a player T-Mac has mentored to finals MVP status, is not happy. Somehow a multipletime all-star at one point the highest paid player in the league and a finals MVP is not happy. But it's a little more nuanced than that. When it comes to the media narratives, he's reportedly not happy in the sense that he feels like the world is against him.

[00:14:51]But on the court, this was his favorite year. No, seriously, not the championship season that Ned and him said finals MVP two years ago. This season, when pundits predicted that the Celtics would be mediocre this season without Jason Tatum with Brown as the undisputed number one, obviously Tatum left a huge void, but Brown was hooping the entire time and dragged the Celtics to a number two seed. And that's why this season was his favorite. He got to be the guy without friction and he liked it. I mean, he's not wrong. He proved that he could be a 1A type of player.

[00:15:23]He's not Robin, he's Batman. He's not Pippen, he's Jordan. He's not Luigi, he's Mario. He's not Janetti. He's a Michaels. Look, I could do this all day.

[00:15:32]What do you want from me? Anyways, the place where he said that this was his favorite season on his Twitch stream.

[00:15:36]Brown has been connecting with his fans through these live streams. And in between the rants of a alleged conspiracies against him was when he said that this was his favorite season.

[00:15:45]Of course, fans took that to mean he's unsatisfied. In Boston, the noise was so loud that the Celtics front office, they had to address it. And Jaylen had to say in another stream that he was happy in Boston and would love to play there for the next 10 years. Sure, he does. While I will not speak for Jaylen or assume his motives, I am 100% No, I'm 150% in support of any move that gets him out of Boston. Like, go spread your wings, Jaylen Brown. You've won a championship and a finals MVP. What more does he need to do, Boston? He should do the right thing and demand a trade to a team that will more greatly appreciate being a 1A type player. Maybe it could be that long rumored homecoming back to Atlanta.

[00:16:24]There's a proposed move that involves getting Jiannis Ando in Celtics Green that I think should be investigated for collusion if such an atrocity were to take place. But any other deals, I welcome them. Let's get Jaden to a team where he can beat Jaylen. Just, you know, make sure it's a team with bleak playoffs hope or no draft picks for the foreseeable future. Now, Celtic fans, and I know there's more than a few of you who watch this, I just want to thank you for being a good sport. When the Lakers are down and out, which is hardly ever, but it happens sometimes, you are the first ones to jump in the comments to clown your boy.

[00:16:58]So, and I get it. I would hate me too if I was a fan of a team that is always committed to winning and now has an ownership group who has proven they will do whatever it takes to win. Hey, new Laker owners, break the NBA like everybody says the Dodgers are breaking baseball. We'll take all the breaking and all the championship parades that go along with it. Maybe we trade for Jaylen Brown. Kind of like how we got mookie bets for the Red Sox from the Red Sox, I should say. A team with Jaylen and Luca might not work out because they can't decide who gets to shoot. But what if it does? Wouldn't that be so cool? If you can't tell, we Laker fans are reveling in this moment and can't wait for more.

[00:17:34]Just don't ask us how we're feeling about our team right now. That's going to do it for the show. Thank you guys for watching Hardass. I am Jacques Slade. I'll see you next week. If you'd like to possibly be featured in a future episode, call us at 8184939325.

[00:17:46]Leave a short message or socials if you want. No more than 30 seconds. All right, I'll see you next week. Peace.