Nikola Jokic drops new 361 shoe collaboration with SpongeBob.
Nikola Jokic is collaborating with another world-known cartoon as 361 dropped SpongeBob editions of the three-time MVP’s shoes.
Jokic has been wearing some SpongeBob colors in practice recently hinting at the drop and now it’s official that 361 Degrees is making colorways for the cartoon characters and friends Patrick, Mr. Krabs and Squidward.
Jokic left Nike for 361 late in 2023, finishing out the season with the Chinese sneaker giant where teammate Aaron Gordon also has a signature sneaker. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made it three Nuggets to become brand ambassadors for the shoes when he inked a deal with 361 back in February.
“361 showed great respect to me. These guys want to help me, use me. And whenever I read about them, they’re really, really popular,” Jokic said at his MVP press conference last week about the 20-year-old Chinese sports brand with almost 9,000 stores globally. “They’re really an up-scaling brand. Maybe I can help them too in some way. It’s the quality of the shoe that I really like. They made a shoe that the comfort is there.”
Jokic is far from the first basketball star with a sneaker line, as that tradition goes back nearly 50 years. Heck, Jokic isn’t even the first MVP to get overlooked by Nike, Steph Curry and James Harden are both former MVPs who used to be with Nike but are now elsewhere. Curry is Under Armour’s face and Harden is one of Adidas big basketball players. On top of that, Jokic isn’t even the first to do a SpongeBob and Friends collaboration. When Kyrie Irving was with Nike, he too mixed up his shoes with the popular Nick cartoon.
Irving and the Mavs are up 3-2 in their series and may meet the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals next week. Denver has to finish off Minnesota before facing Dallas, but you can expect the MV3 to keep rocking the bright-colored 361 shoes he has been this playoff run.
Jokic’s dive into SpongeBob isn’t his first crossover with a cartoon character this year. He joined the Minnons for a playful commercial trailer for the upcoming movie Despicable Me 4. An obvious lover of cartoons, Jokic’s shoes will finally reflect one of his most relatable personality traits.
