Signature Basketball Shoes Revisited: Ja 1, Luka 1, Kawhi III and Zion 2

Signature basketball shoes are performance models that a brand builds around one player and sells under that player’s name. This page looks at four of them from 2022 and 2023: the Nike Ja 1, the Jordan Luka 1, the New Balance Kawhi III and the Jordan Zion 2. The brands’ own product pages listed them between $90 and $159.99, and the prices below are the ones those pages listed.

• Nike Ja 1 “Day One”: $110, listed for 19 April 2023 on Nike’s product page.
• Jordan Luka 1 “Habitat”: $120, listed for 4 October 2022 on Nike’s product page.
• New Balance Kawhi III: listed at $159.99 on New Balance’s page, archived 15 February 2023.
• Jordan Zion 2, Big Kids: $90, listed for 12 January 2023 on Nike’s product page.

What are signature basketball shoes?

A signature basketball shoe is a pair that a brand designs around one player, names after him and sells with his story attached. According to Nike’s product page for the Ja 1 “Day One”, Ja Morant’s handwritten notes are part of the design, and a repeating “12 AM” graphic speaks to his daily mindset.

As of 7 October 2026, Wikipedia’s list of basketball shoe brands records the Kawhi line from New Balance since 2020, the Zion line from Jordan since 2021, and both the Ja line from Nike and the Luka line from Jordan since 2022. That puts all four pairs in lines that were still going when we checked, so we read them as early chapters of a longer story, not one-off releases.

Our All-Star 2023 sneakers roundup covers the wider All-Star weekend.

What did the Nike Ja 1 cost and when did it launch?

According to Nike’s product page for the Ja 1 “Day One”, the pair was listed at $110 for 19 April 2023. The colourway name there is Cobalt Bliss/Hot Punch/Medium Soft Pink/Citron Tint, and Nike’s copy calls the look sunrise-inspired. The same copy says the pair honors his hometown roots and inner circle, and that the insole carries a dedication to the people and experiences that continue to define his journey.

The “Scratch” pair got its own launch page on Nike SNKRS, which lists a release of 28 February 2023 at $120 in Rapid Teal/White/University Red/Black. The Day One page also describes a forefoot Zoom Air unit that helps provide increased responsiveness and vertical acceleration, and ends its copy with one line:

From day one to the Ja 1, and beyond.

For how the silhouette compared with LeBron’s line, see our Ja 1 versus LeBron 20 comparison, and the Nike Ja 4 article picks up the later model.

What is the Jordan Luka 1?

The Jordan Luka 1 is the signature shoe that came with Luka Dončić’s multi-year Air Jordan deal, which Wikipedia’s entry on Dončić says was announced in December 2019. The same entry says that in 2017, while he was playing at Real Madrid, Dončić signed a two-year deal with Nike.

The Nike product page for the Luka 1 “Habitat” says “Luka’s debut delivers the goods” and calls it the first shoe with full-length Formula 23 foam. The same page listed the pair at $120 for 4 October 2022, and says the fit is built around the step-back, with Flight Wire cables that keep the foot contained.

We could not find a brand page for the Luka 1 “Safari” colourway, so no price or date is given for it.

What did New Balance say about the Kawhi III?

New Balance’s product page, as archived on 15 February 2023, priced the Kawhi III at $159.99 and called it “a lightweight, modern, and aggressive shoe, made for an elite athlete at the peak of his powers.”

The same page lists a full-length dual density FuelCell midsole, Energy Arc, which it describes as a carbon fiber plate geometry paired with midsole voids, and a seamless half-bootie knit upper. It gives the weight as 366.33 grams, or 12.9 ounces, and describes a molded heel component that it says offers a more natural, responsive sense of support than standard stitching.

On the player side, Wikipedia says Kawhi Leonard reportedly signed a multi-year endorsement deal with New Balance in November 2018, having previously signed with Air Jordan.

New Balance’s archived page shows no release date, so none is given here.

How did Nike price the Zion 2 for adults and for Big Kids?

Nike listed the men’s Zion 2 at $120 and the Big Kids’ Zion 2 at $90, which is $30 less, or a quarter of the men’s price (30 divided by 120). According to Nike’s men’s page, the Hyper Royal/Black/White pair was listed for 21 September 2022 in colours that nod to Zion Williamson’s iconic college basketball season. The copy says the pair supports your ability to quickly change direction and avoid defenders on the court.

The Big Kids’ page for the University Red pair shows $90 and a listing date of 12 January 2023.

We could not find a Nike page for a Grade School colourway called “Barely Green”, so it is not in the table and no date is given for it. The $90 shown here is the price listed on the Big Kids’ page for the University Red pair.

What did each pair list for on the brand’s own page?

Listed prices ran from $90 for the Zion 2 Big Kids to $159.99 for the Kawhi III, as the table shows, with the price and date each brand’s own page gave for six pairs.

That is a spread of $69.99, which is $159.99 minus $90. Three of the six sit at $120, which is $10 above the Day One and $30 above the Big Kids pair.

Every figure comes from a Nike or New Balance page, with that page’s own date or the archive date beside it. Market prices move and are shown for reference, not as a promise. This page prints no resale figures, and a brand’s own page is the place to check any price before relying on it.

What does a Big Kids size mean for an adult foot?

A Big Kids pair, which many listings call Grade School or GS, tops out at size 7Y, and Nike’s chart sets 7Y equal to a US men’s 7 and a US women’s 8.5. As of 7 October 2026, Nike’s kids’ footwear size chart lists Big Kids sizes from 1Y to 7Y and gives a 7Y foot length of 9 11/16 inches.

Big Kids stops at 7Y, so a US men’s 8 or larger is out of range, and an adult with a bigger foot cannot buy these pairs in their size.

The foot length column is the number to match against a tracing of the foot, because Nike’s own guidance is to measure the longer foot and size up when between sizes. For a different brand’s fit, see our guide on how New Balance fits, and for adult sizes see our best basketball shoes guide.

Why do the men’s and Big Kids’ Zion 2 prices differ?

Nike’s pages listed the men’s pair at $120 and the Big Kids’ pair at $90, a $30 gap. The pages we read do not say why, so we only report the two prices and do the subtraction.

Which Nike kids’ size range comes before Big Kids?

Nike’s chart lists Little Kids from 8C to 3Y and Big Kids from 1Y to 7Y, so the two ranges overlap from 1Y to 3Y.