Top Three, Bottom Three Basketball Shoes In Utah Jazz History

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – One of the key pieces of equipment for every NBA player is their basketball shoes. Throughout the history of the Utah Jazz, there have been a couple of players that have even had signature shoe deals with international brands.

In 2019, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell become Utah’s first player to have a signature shoe deal since Karl Malone. Over the past year, Mitchell and Adidas have released multiple colorways of the guard’s D.O.N Issue #1 shoe.

Some of the shoes worn by Jazz players haven’t looked the best, while others have been top-notch.

Here are the best and worst shoes worn by Jazz players:

Top Three

1. Donovan Mitchell: Adidas Purple Mountain

Last fall, Mitchell and Adidas released a Purple Mountain/Mailman colorway of his signature shoe. The kicks feature Utah’s purple mountain theme from the 90s and early 2000s. The shoes also pay homage to Jazz legend Karl Malone, who owned the nickname “The Mailman,” with a postage stamp on the side. These are the best looking kicks ever worn by a Jazzman.

.@spidadmitchell was seen wearing the Purple Mountain/Mailman colorway of his D.O.N Issue #1 signature shoes earlier this week.

Does this mean a release date is coming soon? 👀🔜🕷#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/c70ua5u8J9

— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) October 3, 2019

2. Royce O’Neale: Custom Nike Purple Mountain

In second place comes another shoe design that featured the Jazz’s purple mountains. Utah forward Royce O’Neale worn a custom pair of Nike’s while wearing the Jazz’s “Classic Edition” purple mountain themed throwback jersey and shorts early in the 2019-20 season. Everything about this shoe design is awesome.

.@BucketsONeale00 went off to match the Jazz throwback unis 🔥 @Giannis_An34 pic.twitter.com/RLSgo21VAX

— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) November 23, 2019

3. Karl Malone: LA Gear White/Mardi Gras

My third choice might go into a lot of people’s bottom three, but for me, it’s a classic. Karl Malone was Utah’s last player to have a signature shoe deal before Donovan Mitchell partnered with Adidas. Malone’s shoes were from LA Gear. I love everything about the Mailman gold script on the bag. It goes perfect with Utah’s retro Mardi Gras colors.

Donovan Mitchell is actually the first Utah Jazz player since Karl Malone to receive a signature sneaker. Malone wore the Apex Mailman in 1998 and these LA Gear Catapult sneakers in 1991. “I just keep mine in mothballs,” Malone said of his retro @LAGear kicks. pic.twitter.com/KdRVu4r84L

— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) December 27, 2018

Bottom Three

1. Rudy Gobert: Custom Nike Red/Yellow Anime

I’m all about NBA players expressing themselves and wearing custom shoes during games but I wasn’t a fan of Rudy Gobert’s anime-themed kicks in 2019.

oooooh! Rudy Gobert shoes 😍 pic.twitter.com/GqrQx94N9m

— T A K A 🚭 (@TakaJunOfficial) January 20, 2019

2. Gordon Hayward: Nike Zebra/Black/White

In 2017, former Utah forward Gordon Hayward became the first Jazz player to receive NBA All-Star honors in more than half a decade. For the All-Star Game, Hayward wore a black and white pair of Nike’s that I didn’t love. The shoes featured a zebra design on the back and a massive strap across the top part of the tongue of the shoe. I’d have loved to have seen a splashier looking shoe worn during the All-Star Game.

#GordonHayward's ALL-Star kicks 🔥🔥#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/c3aXTbtUIl

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 20, 2017

3. Trey Lyles: Nike Gray/Multicolor

During the 2016 NBA Summer League, former Jazzman Trey Lyles wore a gray and multi-color pair of Nike Zoom shoes. I’m usually a fan of colorful kicks but the design on Lyles’ shoes was too busy for me.

.@TreyMambaLyles' #UtahJazzSL Kicks 👟 pic.twitter.com/SiC1OqJBE5

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) July 5, 2016