On Feb. 20, 2019, the No. 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils played host to their heated rivals, the eighth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. While UNC was able to walk into Cameron Indoor Stadium and pick up an 88-72 win, the big story from that night was Zion Williamson blowing out his shoe while plating his left foot on the ground in the early moments of the game. Williamson ended up suffering an injury, but he eventually returned to the team later in the season.
Fast forward to Friday night and Grant Williams of the Boston Celtics got his own shoe blowing out moment — although best as I can tell, this one does not feature former President of the United States Barack Obama sitting courtside and saying “his shoe broke.” Williams pushed the ball up the floor during the team’s preseason tilt against the Toronto Raptors and got hounded by Scottie Barnes and Fred VanVleet the entire time.
At one point, Williams planted his right foot on the ground, which led to his foot blowing through his shoe.
Grant’s shoe really exploded
pic.twitter.com/f5ISnArG2E
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 15, 2022
Fortunately it seems like Williams was ok, which is good, because the Williamson incident showed that this can end poorly. Here’s hoping we do not get another shoe blowout this season.