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Recently, @Nicekicks launched a fresh look of Ja Morant's Friends and Family colorway from the Nike Ja 1 sneaker line. The new release comes studded with Swarovski crystals against a light sky blue background.
Nike registered Ja Morant as the first gen z athlete in their roster and the first signature shoe of this NBA champion, Nike Ja 1, came out in March 2023. The Beaverton brand also launched another colorway on the same sneaker line, calling it the 'Ja1 Midnight'. This has now been released in a new blue colorway.
As soon as @Nicekicks dropped the new launch from the midnight series, fans slammed the sneaker, with many unhappy about the lack of creativity in the 'Friend and Family' colorway.
About Ja Morant's new Friends and Family colorway as it attracts backlash on social media
The Grizzlies star, Ja Morant, announced his fresh sneaker line with Nike on Christmas last year. The highlight of the black silhouette in mesh and leather was the shiny luminous swoosh logo studded with Swarovski crystals. Naming it 'Midnight,' the sneaker got its charm with a crystal worked '12 a.m' lace dubrae.
The latest colorway of this silhouette appears in a light blue makeover with the same Swarovski embellishments. The dazzling swoosh wraps the sneaker at the back, whereas a Ja's hangtag logo is seen on the lateral side.
As the name suggests, this friends and family colorway will be restricted for Ja's close ones only and will not hit retail shelves.
As soon as news of the blue makeover was made public, fans took to social media to criticize the shoe.
Many fans also took this as an opportunity to refer to Ja's gun controversy and condemned Nike for supporting the Grizzlies star.
As is evident from the reactions, while some fans expressed their rage by condemning Nike, others repeatedly pointed out the zero creativity as they feel that the colorway and design could have been better.
