Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to say goodbye to a once-cherished shoe. It’s hard to imagine a more severe image for its obituary: JJ Redick—the former Duke villain turned serviceable NBA journeyman turned podcaster turned head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers—standing on the sidelines with his entire coaching staff in matching pairs of the Nike Dunk Low Retro ‘Panda’. I can’t help but think of Amy Poehler’s Mean Girls character: I’m not a regular coach, I’m a cool coach.
On Tuesday, the NBA kicked off its season with a primetime matchup between the Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game featured plenty of cool moments: LeBron James and Bronny became the first father-son duo to play in the NBA together; Anthony Davis reminded us he’s one of the best players in the world on multiple weeks of rest; and Redick became the first podcaster to steer a professional basketball team to a win. Then there were his shoes.
Even before last night’s endangered squad fit, the culture has been oversaturated with Panda Dunks. Nike first released the shoe in the spring of 2021—James wore a pair in December 2022!—and has restocked the shoe countless times in the years since, riding the hype train to untold sold-out drops. We are now, however, firmly on the downswing of this trend: They are currently available in every single size online at Nike, which isn’t exactly on fire as a brand these days. The head coach of the Lakers should be able to source some scarcer kicks for opening night at Staples Crypto Dot Com Arena.
Or maybe Redick was the perfect candidate to wear these Dunks. The shoes, after burning out with early adopters like James, have now bubbled up to the closets of moms and dads everywhere. Earlier this week, Colin Farrell wore a pair of high-top Pandas while leaving the airport. Emily Blunt, meanwhile, took the black-and-white Dunks out for a spin in April before an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! So maybe I shouldn’t say the shoe is dead—it’s merely been reincarnated…as this guy.
