Damien Wilkins‘ last few deals with NBA teams read something like this: signed one-year minimum unguaranteed contract, waived, 10-day contract, another 10-day contract and finally, guaranteed for remainder of season. Here’s to guessing Dominique‘s nephew doesn’t have the digs of multi-millionaire basketball players like monster truck meister Joe Johnson.
That means they don’t have as much closet space, which becomes an issue for Wilkins because like most NBA players, he loves shoes.
“I’ve always been a sneaker freak,” he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I had a cousin who could dress like a bum, but his sneakers were always fresh and new. I adopted that from him.”
It’s safe to call Wilkins, most recently with the Atlanta Hawks, an obsessed kicks buyer, and he gave the AJC the lowdown on his shoe-buying habits, including how a sneakerhead deals with having limited storage space and how he clears that space for new purchases.
“I have a closet that is all sneakers, and I can’t close the door. I have to step on shoes to get to shoes. In my bedroom I have another custom closet where I can stack the shoes.
“When I run out of closet space, I end up giving 150 pairs of shoes to my friends who wear my size. If I haven’t worn a pair in months and have no plans to wear them again, I put them in the throw-out collection. In the summer, my friends call and say, ‘Hey, have you cleaned out your closet yet?’ They know they’ll go away with bags of sneakers.
“As soon as I clean out the closets, I am running out of room again. That’s how fast I collect shoes.”
What’s on the top of Wilkins’ shopping list? Everything, pretty much.
“Of the 300 pairs I’ve collected the past three years, about 75 are Nike Air Force Ones. I have all the Air Maxes since 1995. I have every pair of Jordans, even some I didn’t like. I even have some casual low-top Jordans not even for basketball.
“Shell-toes are some of my favorites, though they can get dirty quick. I’ve got high-top adidas, old school retro adidas, Chuck Taylors — man, the list goes on and on.”
What’s your collection look like?
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