The Dame 5 is here, and adidas is going big with a release full of color and stories from Damian Lillard’s life and career. The signature shoe of the Portland Trail Blazers guard is the next evolution of a shoe that Lillard makes sure incorporates his own interests and life story. The Dame 5 has a full-length Bounce cushion and a lateral banking barrier for improved on-court stability.
A lightweight upper, padded collar and internal pod system provides comfort and support, while the sihouette of the shoe uses a zonal herringbone traction pattern to improve grip and offer adidas designers a chance to give the Dame 5 some unique colorways.
The first colorway, the People’s Champ, celebrate’s Lillard’s “passion” for boxing. Featuring elements of Trail Blazers colors and some classic boxing motifs, the shoe was fittingly displayed by adidas in the boxing gym.
All Skate is a take on skate culture in Oakland. The YKWTII, meanwhile, is all about Dame Time.
Those three colorways will be available on February 1, when the shoe officially drops on adidas.com. Three more colorways will follow in the coming months. Suga Gee (March 1) honors Dame’s mother and is splashed with one of her favorite colors.
La Heem (May 3) is named after one of Dame’s earlier nicknames, is a black and gold colorway.
“La Heem is my alter ego. It’s a Muslim word, but it just started cause my cousin would always say La Heem. It [represents] the best of the best,” Lillard said in an adidas release. “It’s a Muslim word that means to be ahead of or to be passing. It’s kind of [become] my thing. It’s like everything else I do, I’m La Heem.”
Perhaps the coolest colorway is based on a bike from Lillard’s childhood. The DameGoose (April 5) is designed after a Mongoose bike he had growing up that was nearly stolen.
“Somebody stole that bike, and I went searching,” Lillard said. “We went around the neighborhood and found it. You ain’t keeping this one. That’s ours.”
