Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers picked up their biggest win of the season on Friday night. The team knocked off the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers, 106-101, which simultaneously meant that the Lakers were unable to jump them for the 6-seed in the Western Conference. L.A. is now in the play-in tournament, and to make matters worse, Portland won the season series, giving them the tiebreaker should the Lakers make up the gap.
Lillard, as is oftentimes the case when the Blazers win big games, had himself a nice night, scoring 38 points on 12-f0r-18 shooting from the field and knocking down five of his nine attempts from three. He also pitched in seven assists, four rebounds, two steals, and one special pair of sneakers.
In a post on his Instagram account, Lillard explained that the special kicks he wore during the game — the Dame 7 EXTPLY — were a collaboration between adidas, Reebok, and Shaq, as they paid tribute to the legendary Reebok Shaqnosis design.
This “Damenosis” adidas Dame 7 pays homage to @SHAQ’s signature Reebok Shaqnosis line. You can see logos from Dame, Shaq, adidas, and Reebok featured on the shoe. #KicksOnCourt pic.twitter.com/cVrqNoVuAE
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) May 8, 2021
“If we are talking about my journey in music,” Lillard wrote in the caption, “it’s only right to pay tribute to the first NBA player to do it big in music. Salute!”
There is no word on whether adidas and/or Reebok plan on releasing these to the general public, but it’s safe to say that Lillard will probably wear them a few more times as the Blazers look to go on a run this season.