by Daniel Olsen | Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard are two of the most talented basketball players with Utah ties. They also have similar ties when tying their shoes. Both are sponsored by Adidas and are selling unique colorways. Let’s take a look at their most recent shoes and compare some of the best versions that both have sold:
D.O.N. Issue 1 vs Dame 6:
“Determination Over Negativity“ is a great acronym that conveniently spells out Donovan’s nickname. Dame is a great nickname for Damian Lillard. When hoopers ask what time it is especially in the NBA Bubble, everyone knows it’s not game time. It’s DAME time! Donovan has the edge for the creative acronym but let’s see who has the cooler colorways:
The Blacks: Symbiote vs Leather
Donovan has a more showy black shoe with Pink accents and a toothy grin on the midsole. This is an ode to the Venom villain of Spider-Man. Wear these if you want some double takes off the court and intimidate your opponent on it.
The Dame 6 “Leather” is one of the classier basketball shoes around. You can hoop with them but you could also wear them to the prom. They may not be MJ status as some celebrities wore Air Jordan’s to awards shows but they are a good matchup. I like the flashiness of Donovan shoes but I think the Dame 6 Leather wins here as it would appeal to a larger variety of people.
The Team colors: The Mailman vs Scarlet Red
Donovan paid a tribute to Karl Malone the letter carrier himself. The shoe has a mailbox logo and a sweet purple and white shoe with the classic 90’s Jazz purple Mountain print on the midsole. This instantly became a classic among Jazz fans and sold like crazy.
Once again, Dame brings a classy instead of flashy shoe in this matchup but I’m giving this one to Donovan. He gets extra points for team spirit. If Dame could get some funky Blazer logo lines going similar to the T-Mac II “Return of the Mac” Adidas shoe. Now that would be box office!
The Box Office Movie: Star Wars vs Supersize Me
Mitchell has a shoe called the Lightsaber. It’s lit and even glows in the dark. It’s not the only color way to do so. The stealth also glows green in the dark. Overall this is a shoe that brings nostalgia to one of the greatest movie franchises ever.
Lillard has a pair of kicks that you can wear while asking if the customer “wants fries with that”. Yes, he is partnering with McDonald’s in hopes that if we buy his shoes we will be McStatic! It has the golden arch M logo with a surprising lime green main color to rival the look of the Shamrock Shake that is released every March. While this movie didn’t get 5 stars, it is the closest thing we could think of to a movie in the Dame 6 color ways.
In this matchup we will go with Dame because a collaboration effort with McDonald’s won’t go unnoticed. A relationship with a fast food restaurant is uncharted territory but it turned out quite well in this shoe colorway.
Overall there are a lot of other cool shoes. Dame has had a lot more signature shoes so I think it wins because fans can enjoy more of a finished product. While the reviews on Donovan Mitchell shoes are still mixed from a performance standpoint, he has a lot of colors that appeal to a wider variety of audiences and could end up having the more popular shoes when all is said and done.
Be sure to check out the new colors coming this fall for the D.O.N Issue 2 as well as the Dame 7 when it comes out. There have already been some colors leaked such as a green “Spidey Sense” shoe as well as a red, yellow and blue pair sponsored by Crayola. With that, we hope you sneaker-heads enjoyed this comparison and take a look at these shoes from the best players with ties to our state.