Fear of God Athletics, a sportswear line between Jerry Lorenzo’s FOG brand and adidas, is releasing its “first true performance sneaker,” dubbed the Fear of God Athletics II Basketball.
To be clear, this is not the first sneaker created by this collaborative line. There have been premium suede running-inspired shoes and rugged hiking sneakers before now, however, this basketball model is the first shoe actually made for athletes.
And it’s already starting to be used by said athletes.
On November 10, Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead wore the sneakers in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Meanwhile, his opponent, the LA Lakers point guard Gabe Vincent, was also in the new FOG Athletics shoe (and has been for every game since playing the Sacramento Kings on October 26).
Seeing the II Basketball sneaker used in the NBA should quieten any doubters on the shoe’s performance, however, you can’t blame anyone for wondering whether or not it will really perform: this doesn’t look anything like a typical basketball sneaker.
In true Fear of God fashion, the sneaker is minimally designed. Dressed in monochrome color schemes, it has a thick, sculpted sole unit that spills out onto its stripped-back upper where even the lace loops are largely obscured for a simpler look.
This shoe is too clean, refined, and minimal to fit the usual mold of a high-performance shoe.
Making a performance sneaker to Jerry Lorenzo’s aesthetic standards was not an easy task. “Ultimately, creating a product that delivers on-court Basketball performance requirements along with the luxury sensibilities of Fear of God Athletics was nothing short of a Miracle,” says Shane Ward, Senior Design Director at Fear of God Athletics, in an Instagram post about the sneaker.
It’s almost a year to the date since the Fear of God Athletics’ debut collection arrived (mind you, Lorenzo did have us waiting almost three years for it) and the sporty sub-line clearly sees basketball as a large part of its future.
Not only is Fear of God Athletics’ first performance sneaker (releasing sometime in December 2024) a basketball shoe, but it has also recently launched its own basketball team which plays in the Overtime Elite league.
Watch out Nike Jordan, Fear of God and adidas are plotting a big move into basketball.