Zion Williamson Will Wear Kyries, Not PGs, In His Duke Return

Zion Williamson is back after missing the last five games (plus all but 30 seconds of the first UNC game) due to a mild knee sprain.

The Duke sensation and future top overall pick will be back in the lineup as Duke faces Syracuse in their first game of the ACC Tournament on Thursday, which is great news for a team that went 3-3 without him (although one of those wins was against the Orange on the road). Williamson famously injured his knee when he blew through his Nike PG2.5 sneaker on the opening possession against the Tar Heels.

There was plenty of discussion about his sneaker selection, how bad a look it was for Nike, and whether he would return to adidas once he turns pro (which he fueled by rocking a full adidas tracksuit on Instagram). However, in the immediate, he’s still in Nikes with Duke and there was plenty of speculation of what sneaker he would wear once he returned. On Wednesday, we got that answer as Duke tweeted out a photo of Zion lacing up a pair from Kyrie Irving’s signature line, not Paul George’s.

These appear to be Kyrie 4s, not 5s, based on the lacing, but either way it’s not a surprise he made a change and went to a slightly more formidable sneaker after what happened in the lowtop PG2.5. The midtop Kyries have a bit more of a solid structure and while he may be giving up a tiny bit of lightness, it’s probably a smart trade off for a bit more stability and strength in his shoe, given his explosive nature.