SGA Signs With Nike — And Suddenly My Converse Shai 001 Might Be a Collectible
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recently announced on his Instagram — and Nike confirmed broadly — that SGA is moving from Converse to Nike.
Honestly, not surprising. Nike is a significantly bigger platform for a superstar of his calibre. What's actually surprising is that it took this long. SGA has been an elite NBA player for a while now, and with the Converse Shai 001 launching around this time last year during OKC's championship run, you'd have thought Nike would have moved faster to bring him over.
But here we are. And the news immediately raised a question I hadn't thought about until my friend brought it up.
Should I Keep My Converse Shai 001 Mint?
If you read my earlier post on the Shai 001, you know my friend and I were obsessed with getting our hands on a pair. Since then, he's been collecting multiple colourways as they've become more widely available. I only have the one — the camo Echo.
The moment the Nike news dropped, my friend messaged immediately: "Holy s***, will the Converse ones be collectibles now?"
My answer was yes. And specifically — if it comes down to the Converse Shai 001 versus whatever Nike launches next, the Converse version wins as the collectible. Despite being the less popular brand. Actually — because of it.
Here's my thinking.
First, the Converse Shai 001 was genuinely hard to get. I'm still hunting for the brown and blue colourways and haven't found them yet. Scarcity is the foundation of collectible value. The harder something was to get, the more it matters later.
Second — and this is important — collectibles don't always go to the bigger brand. I'm a car guy, so let me use a car analogy. Toyota is a vastly bigger brand than Datsun/Nissan. But if you're comparing old school collectibles, a vintage Datsun is more coveted than an equivalent old school Corolla or Celica. The underdog brand with the cult following often wins the collectible game.
And if Converse as a brand continues to decline and eventually fades away entirely? That only makes the Shai 001 more valuable. Scarcity of the brand itself becomes part of the story.
Final Thought
My Shai 001 Echo in Camo colour
I've made my decision — the camo Shai 001 is going into the collection. Not wearing it. Keeping it mint.
And I'm still hunting for the brown and blue colourways. If anyone knows where to find them in a size 9.5 — drop it in the comments 😂
I'm genuinely excited for SGA's Nike era. More launches, faster drops, bigger marketing. Nike has the infrastructure to make his signature line massive. The thing is — Nike already has a deep roster of signature basketball shoes. Converse really only had Shai. That exclusivity matters for the Converse version in a way it simply won't for the Nike ones.
One more thing — with OG Anunoby's iconic tip-in in the NBA Finals, apparently Skechers — who OG is signed to — is launching a Knicks orange and blue colourway of his signature shoe.
Honestly? Tempted. 😂
