How was the Clippers’ sneaker game on opening night?

I’m sure you remember the night before your first day of school: you would pick out your outfit from top to bottom and lay it down on the floor, excited to wear it the morning after. This type of excitement most likely surrounds even the most experienced of NBA players before their first game back from the offseason. And though they may not be able to choose the outfit they wear during the game, they can display their distinct style and flavor with their sneakers.

How did the Clippers do? In their first game of the season, the Clippers suffered more than just a loss by two points against the Golden State Warriors — they suffered a massive blowout (I’d say by 25 points) in their sneaker game.

Up first, Reggie Jackson. Even for game one of 82 of a grueling regular season, he reverted to the same pair of shoes he has been lacing up for the past year: the PG 5s. His mix-matching of the ‘Play For the Future’ and the ‘Purple Orange’ PG 5s was cool initially; it may have lost its charm after his 749th wearing this colorway.

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The Clippers’ starting center shouldn’t be excused either — although I do understand how hard it must be to look for shoes his size. Ivica Zubac’s all-red Dame 7s do pop, but it’s missing something. Maybe a little bit of metallic red? Or some Clipper blue to contrast the red? I’m not sure, but I do know that the shoes, the way they are, are not exactly jaw-dropping.

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In my opinion, Paul George’s game-day sneaker selection is the most disappointing of the bunch. Not necessarily because the shoes themselves are the least appealing but more so because he decided to wear a pair of General Release PG 5s on opening night. He could have easily — the way he’s always done in his Clipper career — turned necks with never-to-be-seen player exclusives or older models we forgot about like the PG 1s. But he decided to wear a pair of multi-color PGs that we’ve all seen sitting on shelves in the local Foot Locker.

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Now, I don’t think all the Clippers and their shoes had disappointing starts to their long season. Marcus Morris Sr.’s ‘1 World 1 People’ Kyrie 7s’ plethora of colors pulled me closer to the TV screen, squinting to get a better look on the fun of the shoes. I’m all about these sneakers: from the heart and peace emblems engraved into the eyelets of the shoes to the message of this design: promotion of love and peace.

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Admittedly, the Clippers were not at full strength. They missed Kawhi Leonard who has his own signature shoe with New Balance and Nicolas Batum, a Jordan Brand athlete gifted with eye-catching Jordan PEs. So, while the Clippers might have started off on the wrong foot, we know what’s to come.

Leonard understood the assignment. On the sidelines. he went with the bread and butter by wearing a classy pair of New Balance 992s. Much like his basketball game, these sneakers are simple yet so effective (I mean, look at the soft suede and the perfect shade of grey!).

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Looking ahead, expect to see some one-of-one PG 5s on George’s feet or some eye-catching LeBron’s on Bledsoe’s; the Clippers’ shoe game is known to be one of the league’s best, after all.

The Clippers seek to bounce back from their loss — both the 48-minute basketball game and their sneaker game — when they take on the Grizzlies in their second game of the regular season.