Just as many people were staring at the sky, waiting for the totality of a rare solar eclipse, Nike took the opportunity to drop a fresh new logo. But not just any logo: an alien carved into a south Texas farm field.
Sources familiar with the work say it’s a real farm field, not just Photoshop of other visual effects. Either way, it’s an incredibly clever logo for San Antonio Spurs rookie superstar Victor Wembanyama. The brand’s caption was a cryptic, “The total eclipse has just begun.”
So how do we know this is a new Wemby logo? The south Texas location is one major hint. Another is that “Alien” is a nickname for the 20-year-old phenom, bestowed on him by none other than LeBron James back in February 2023.
In a Sports Illustrated story on Wemby, James said he didn’t think the term “unicorn” was unique enough. ”We’re labeling like this unicorn thing—everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years,” James said. “But he’s more like an alien—no one has seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor.”
The sneaker rumor mill has been spinning for a while about a potential May drop of Wemby’s first signature “Alien” shoe from the swoosh. He wore a version of them earlier this year at the NBA All-Star game.
Nike originally signed Wemby to a shoe and apparel deal while he was playing in France, before San Antonio drafted him as the no. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. His deal is rumored to be in the $100 million range, and if his own shoe does drop as expected, he would be the eighth pro basketball signature model for Nike. So far, Nike has signature shoes for NBA stars LeBron, Ja Morant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker, as well as WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu.
Victor Wembanyama debuts his new “Alien” Nike GT Hustle 2 PE with a logo he drew by himself 👽🔥 pic.twitter.com/c2yv9eLMkq
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) February 16, 2024
Until we know for sure that the Wemby shoe is coming, fans will have to tap into their inner Fox Mulder and believe.