DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has graced the cover of a magazine deeply-engrained in the basketball scene, highlighting his new signature Jordan shoe.
SLAM Magazine profiled Doncic and his Jordan Luka 1s, which he released on his social media hours before returning to the court in the 2022 playoffs against the Utah Jazz.
Donning the cover, "Luka The Don" features his rise to superstardom and his lucrative shoe deal with arguably the world's biggest sneaker brand. SLAM Magazine followed in Doncic's shadow during a visit to Paris, where he went to see a Slovenian team play a local French team in a 20-minute exhibition.
"All roads have started to lead to Luka these days. More and more of his peers talk about how unstoppable he is," SLAM Magazine wrote. "His fan base continues to stretch, both geographically and age-wise. Opposing coaches are losing sleep over him. The NBA résumé is getting bolstered in the same way his EuroLeague accomplishments caught attention from shining sea to shining sea."
As the Doncic's legend grew, so did interest from the Jordan brand. Doncic and Jordan first met during All-Star Weekend and then "the table was properly set for his first sneaker," according to SLAM Magazine.
Cue the Jordan Luka 1s.
Here's how Nike – which owns the rights to Jordan brand – described Doncic's signature shoe:
"The Luka 1 is designed for the deceptive, off-speed play of Luka Dončić, featuring a new IsoPlate system with full-length Formula 23 performance foam in the midsole. The shoe follows a long line of innovative Jordan Brand performance systems, like the Flight Plate in the Air Jordan XXVIII and the Eclipse Plate debuted in the Air Jordan XXXIV.”
Doncic enters his fifth season for the Dallas Mavericks after leading the team to the Western Conference Finals in 2022. He's the odds-on favorite to win MVP in the 2022-23 season, according to VegasInsider.
More Texas headlines: