It explains the genius behind Devin Booker’s first Signature, the Nike Book 1

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Devin Booker is different. The way he approaches the game is different. His obsession in the past decades, is completely different. His extensive collection of classic, unique cars. Her home in Arizona is decorated with well-placed, unique antique furniture. His historian-like knowledge of basketball sneakers is insane in its own right. How he approached the life cycle of his first shoe—the Nike Book 1—is quite different.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say. And with an eye as unique and selective as Devin Booker’s, his signature port would be the culmination of years of love and patience.

Undoubtedly, the Book 1 looks unlike anything Nike has delivered on the hardwood in years. It is refined simplicity with a regal accent. Buttery soft leather, a rounded toe box and lightweight stitched overlays all create an off-court aesthetic with a crazy on-court feel. Plush is an excellent host.

Stacked on top of a Cushlon 2.0 foam midsole and a Zoom Air bag loaded up front, Booker and lead designer Ben Nethongkome have infused a collection of premium materials and technology into his signature first.

Book 1 emphasizes the importance of the museum, making a collection of ancient and modern objects from the ground up. Depending on the color inspiration, the finish should be dark and subdued, like the torn details reminiscent of the Phoenix desert in the front of “Chapter One” or the smooth touch of tonal tan “Mirage.” In the middle, a thickly stitched work fabric adds signature depth to the midfoot panel.

But before we get too deep, we need to take a trip. Physical and metaphorical. A journey through the mind of Devin Booker and the physical path he takes from the dewy fields of Beaverton, OR, to the hard-paved plains of Arizona.

The 24th Nike athlete to have a signature shoe is a major commitment to the signature. The evidence is overwhelming. Taking a trip to Nike’s Archives Department—DNA, for short—in Beaverton early in the model’s 18-24 month production cycle sparked an idea that Booker has since brought to life.

His first silhouette serves as a tribute to the firsts in the history of Nike Basketball: the Air Force 1, the Air Jordan 1 and the Nike Blazer, the first Nike basketball shoe. Drawing inspiration from Booker’s ’72 Chevy Blazer K5—where he kept the classic exterior and updated the interior with a modern engine—the Nike Book 1 explores aesthetics spanning decades. The result is a classic future built with luxurious materials and a historical level of storytelling that can only be found in the mind of a 27-year-old.

During All-Star Weekend, Booker invited members of the media and close friends to a nearby library lounge to celebrate the debut of the Nike Book 1 in the “Mirage” colorway on the SNKRS app. Various colors were woven throughout the bookcases that lined the walls of the dimly lit room. Large leather-bound boxes engraved with gold foil were placed on wooden tables that housed the original sneakers. This was more than just an installation. True, original collaboration. A coalition that has included many, many special iterations.

Throughout the 2023-24 NBA season, Booker has shown his deep appreciation and understanding of the history of the Beaverton brand through an assortment of Player Exclusive colorways. On Christmas Day, he unveiled a tribute to his father’s favorite shoe, the Air Max 95, in 1995 in the “Neon” colorblock. The homage to the Air Jordan XI “Cool Grey” arrived in early November. And those “Be Legendary” Kobe 4 and Kobe 5 colorways they’ve been rocking for the past few years? Yes, he turned them into their own sets.

His love of the outdoors was channeled through the infamous ACG Air Mowabb “Twine” colorway, complete with a “Teal Charge/Club Gold/Twine” trifecta on the t-shirt. And his refined, vintage mystique came to life with the Nike Cortez in 1972 featuring the white, red and blue block Forrest Gump kicks in the 1994 film.

The design of the Air Jordan 1 wasn’t the only inspiration the book drew from the iconic model. The songs “Metallic Purple” and “Shattered Backboard” were also given their due light. Classic after classic. OG after OG.

While the Book 1 made pit stops at all of Nike’s sneaker mile markers, several nods to the Book’s personal tastes surfaced in the Footprint Center. The triple black treatment emblazoned with the white Detroit Tigers logo arrived in early November. The icy blue throw on his 2019 Air Force 1 “Moss Point” dropped a few weeks later. And a concoction dressed in white dedicated to one of his favorite sports, Narcoswhich appeared in late March.

Over the past 10 months, Devin Booker has been slowly reviving the level of involvement of a signed athlete. Methodology should be methodical, calculated, timely, and purposeful; a canvas of his dedication to the program and those who came before him. This shield, at this moment, has been cut by Devin Booker.

The colors, the combination of fabrics, the tab of the tongue, the sleek beauty, even the ambiance found in the room outside of the All-Star Weekend, are all a result of who Devin Booker is in him.

There’s a reason the first colorway of the “Mirage” model was smoking on the SNKRS app in minutes. Devin Booker gets it. You care about storytelling, you care about materials, you care about creating moments. Devin Booker is a different level of tastemaker.

Photos via Getty Images.