Joel Embiid’s new signature shoe with Skechers, the SKX JE 1, was released exclusively at Lapstone & Hammer on Saturday. The Sixers center, who signed with the brand last year after his five-year partnership with Under Armour ended, debuted his shoes during the team’s 142-134 double-overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Embiid wore the low-top sneaker, which has his initials on the tongue of the shoe, in black, blue, and pink. The shoe is expected to release two other colorways: neon green and black, and a red, white, black, and gold color scheme that appears to match the Sixers’ all-black jerseys from their 2001 NBA Finals team, which the team has brought back for the 25th anniversary of that season.
Embiid previously had just one signature shoe with Under Armour, the Embiid One, which released in September 2020. Having a second signature shoe with a different company is rare, and he joins players like Aaron Gordon, Kyrie Irving, and Andrew Wiggins as active players who have had signature shoes with more than one brand.
Although the shoes’ global release has not yet been announced, Embiid is on a small list of Philly athletes who have had their own signature shoes. The most notable is Allen Iverson with 18 Reebok signature shoes. Although the list is brief, how does Embiid’s newest shoe stack up against his predecessors?
Iverson’s ‘Questions’ and ‘Answers’
There have been many Iverson shoes with Reebok, but the popularity of his Reebok Question 1 signature shoe, which debuted in 1996 after he was drafted No. 1 overall by the Sixers, and his Reebok Answer IV shoe, which came out in 2000, is palpable.
The latter has even been replicated as football cleats. Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith wore custom-made Iverson IV cleats for last year’s NFC championship game against the Commanders and the Super Bowl. The shoe was an homage to Iverson’s tunnel outfit for the NBA Finals, which featured a custom-made Eagles jersey with his last name on it and a green and white colorway for the Answer IVs.
The original Reebok Question sneakers are best known for their red cap, matching the style of the Air Jordan 11s that Iverson wore in college at Georgetown. The Question had a white base, with the red toe and blue bottoms to match the Sixers’ jerseys back then in 1996-97. Versions of them continue to be sold today, and Reebok has even unveiled a golf shoe in the same style.
We also need to show some love to the Answer 1 high-top shoes, which had hidden laces and featured the pump on the side of the shoe with Iverson’s logo on it.
Converse EB
Right as Elton Brand’s playing days started in Philly in 2008, so were his signature shoe releases. He debuted the Converse EB1 signature shoes during his first season with the Sixers, with the EB logo on the strap across the sneakers shaped as the letter “D” as an homage to his mother Daisy and his Dunbar Heights neighborhood near Peekskill, N.Y.
Brand went on to release the Converse EB2 and EB3 in 2009 and 2010, respectively. His shoes were best known for being sold exclusively at JCPenney for $65. He had two stints with Philly as a player (2008-12, 2016), then worked his way up through the Sixers’ organization from player development consultant to general manager.
FILA Stackhouse
A year before Iverson came into the fold, Jerry Stackhouse, drafted third overall by the Sixers in 1995, debuted his shoe with FILA, called the “FILA Stackhouse,” which came on the heels of Grant Hill’s popular signature shoe in the mid-1990s.
The shoe became a major success because of Stackhouse’s instant impact in Philly, averaging 19.2 points as a rookie during the 1995-96 season. He played in Philly for only two seasons, but the shoe, which released in white, blue, and red and a white-and-red colorway, has held up over time.
In 2014, FILA and former Philly retailer Ubiq, which closed in 2020, collaborated with Packer Shoes to release the FILA Spaghetti, paying homage to Stackhouse’s 18-year career, which ended in Brooklyn with the Nets. The shoe featured the Sixers’ vibrant red and blue colors. He also released the FILA Stack II in 1996 and the FILA Stackhouse III during the 1998-99 season.
Dr. J and the Converse Pro Leather
Julius Erving, better known as Dr. J, released his signature Pro Leather high-top sneakers with Converse in 1976, his first season in Philly, in a simple white-and-red colorway. Erving wore the leather sneakers throughout his career with the Sixers, which spanned 11 years.
He released a low-top version a year later, but the high-top classics are his most acclaimed signature shoe. Erving also released the Converse All-Star Dr. J 2000, which debuted in 1997, and Converse Dr. J Pro Leather 2K11, which came in 2011.
Reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now the face of Converse, but Erving and Chuck Taylor are a big part of the brand becoming a key player in the basketball space.
Signature shoes elsewhere
Charles Barkley, Darryl Dawkins, Dikembe Mutombo, and Paul George all played in Philly at some point in their careers, but each had signature shoes released either before or after their time with the Sixers.
Barkley’s came when he was with the Phoenix Suns. The Nike Air Force Max CB sneakers were released in 1993, which became one of his iconic shoes, and he released six others over the next five years.
Dawkins had his signature shoe with the Nets come in 1984, the Pony Uptown. Mutombo had two signature shoes with Adidas: the Mutombo I and II sneakers, which came out in 1993 and 1994, respectively, while he was with the Nuggets.
George released all six of his signature shoes with Nike before arriving in Philly, from his debut Nike PG 1 sneakers being released in Indiana in 2017 to the Nike PG 6’s in 2022 with the Clippers.
Kobe Bryant, who played his high school ball at Lower Merion, had 29 signature shoes with Nike, though his Nike Zoom Kobe VI sneakers are probably the most popular pair in his collection.
We can’t forget about North Philly native Dawn Staley, who had two signature shoes released in 1999 as part of the Nike Alpha Project. Staley debuted the Nike Air Zoom S5 during her first season in the WNBA in 1999 with the Charlotte Sting, and the Nike Air Zoom S5 II followed a year later.
Temple alum Eddie Jones, who played for six NBA teams, had two Jordan Brand signature shoes released early in his career: the Jumpman Quick 6 in 1998 with the Lakers and Jumpman Swift 6 in 1999 with the Hornets.
Verdict on SKX JE 1
Embiid’s first sneaker with Skechers look more modern and sleek than the Under Armour Embiid One shoes. Compared to other Philly athletes’ shoes, though, and due in part to Skechers’ lack of appeal as opposed to bigger basketball brands, it’s a tough one to rank ahead of Iverson, Dr. J, or Stackhouse’s signature shoes.
The colorway he debuted on Sunday is eye-catching, and the shoe will ultimately be judged by its performance when others are wearing it on the court. This could be the start of a long signature shoe partnership between Skechers and Embiid, but his first shoe definitely has room for improvement.
