It’s the last Out of Bounds of the 2024-25 NBA season!

It doesn’t seem fair that it’s almost over, but lucky for us, this newsletter expands off the court. We’re not changing anything. 🫡

Today’s Lineup

👟 New Sneakers in NBA Finals

We’re four games in, and it’s safe to say that this has been one of the more fun Finals we’ve seen:

✅ Game winners? Check.

✅ Elite offensive execution? Yup.

✅ Sneaker debuts from the best players on each side? You got it!

Tyrese Haliburton revealed his first signature shoe EVER during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The first colorway of the PUMA Hali 1s is titled “Hibiscus” after the pinkish flower with the similar hue.

Hali becomes PUMA’s newest splash in the basketball sneaker space—the shoe hits stores in September… 👀

Too bad he didn’t do anything memorable that game.

We’ve been glazing SGA’s SHAI 001s the past few weeks, but it’s been for good reason. The newest MVP debuted a new colorway titled “MASI BLUE” after his brother Thomasi (he too is a cousin of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, if you haven’t heard). Shai says the icy color reflects his brother’s stoic and cool demeanor!

This release follows the “Hail Clay” colorway that honored Shai’s wife Hailey and the color of her eyes. We love how Shai is using his new sneaker line to celebrate his loved ones! ❤️ 

✍️ Lu Dort’s Incredible Memoir

Lu Dort is a fighter. The son of Haitian immigrants in Montreal went undrafted, began his rookie season on a two-way contract, and by the end of the year was starting on a playoff team. Now, he’s a starter on a Finals team.

The Thunder star defender recently authored a story in The Player’s Tribune about his come-up, life attitude, and growth in Oklahoma City. He titled it with three words that epitomize his game and his life: “Earned Not Given.”

Dort chronicles his story of falling from a projected first round pick to going undrafted on draft night and ultimately getting a call from Sam Presti offering him a two-way deal. Lu brought his experience in the capital of Quebec to life, speaking Creole with fellow immigrants and playing street ball tournaments against the likes of Chris Boucher.

The moment that convinced Dort that Shai was the real deal? At some point during the Thunder’s 2019-20 season—remember that fun roster with CP3 and Dennis Schroeder?—OKC gave up a big run and HC Billy Donovan called timeout. When a play was drawn up for someone else, Shai casually but confidently insisted on getting the ball.

He then went on his own 12-0 run. 😮

Five years later, Shai and Dort are still on OKC and part of a 68-win, title-favorite team. The kids are starting to grow up! 🥲

A fan caught sight of Davion Mitchell walking around Miami in his Heat jersey like he was your average fan, and we honestly love it. If we were NBA players, we would do the EXACT same thing—it’s an off-the-court perk up there with having your own name in 2K and collecting hundreds of shoes. 😂 

Our question is… does Mitchell wearing the jersey make you more or less likely to recognize him? Personally, we would think “no way a pro athlete is repping their own jersey out in public.” But maybe that’s just Heat Culture! 😂

Signing Off

Game 5 is tonight! They say whoever wins Game 5 wins the series, and we hear “they” are pretty much all-knowing. Let’s Enjoy the ride! ✌️

Conor Geelan