- New Balance, together with two-time NBA Finals MVP and NBA 75th Anniversary Team member Kawhi Leonard unveil the stars new signature shoe, the New Balance KAWHI II
- The New Balance KAWHI II, will make its on-court debut with the New Money colorway at the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game worn by Grammy nominated musician and NB ambassador Jack Harlow
- Kawhi will wear the new KAWHI II New Money during the NBA All-Star 75th Anniversary Ceremony on Sunday, February 20th
New Balance and Kawhi Leonard reveal the NBA 75th Anniversary Team member’s second signature shoe during the NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland
Boston, MA February 18, 2022 – Global athletic leader New Balance, together with two-time NBA Finals MVP and NBA 75th Anniversary Team member Kawhi Leonard unveil the stars new signature shoe, the New Balance KAWHI II, the third iteration of the New Money colorway.
The New Balance KAWHI II, will make its on-court debut with the New Money colorway at the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game worn by Grammy nominated musician and newly-named New Balance ambassador Jack Harlow with Kawhi wearing it during the NBA All-Star 75th Anniversary Ceremony on Sunday, February 20th. The New Balance KAWHI II comes packed with innovative features to help boost performance and a full assortment of apparel. The New Balance KAWHI II New Money apparel collection includes a hoodie, pant and t-shirt that were curated by Clayton and Chris Griggs working with the New Balance design team. The full collection will officially launch on newbalance.com and select retailers on March 19, 2022 with the suggested retail prices for the footwear at $160, $40 for the t-shirts, $75 for the pant and $80 for the hoodie.
Designed and inspired by Kawhi, the third shoe of the New Money colorway series continues to draw inspiration from a design meeting where Kawhi certain felt details reminded him of stacks of money. Continuing the New Money series aims to evolve the original storyline and inspire the next generation of athletes to build their own legacies as entrepreneurs and strive for excellence beyond sport, just as New Balance and Kawhi have done together.
“To release a second version of a signature shoe together with New Balance is an honor and a privilege,” says Kawhi. “My goal was to be fully immersed in every aspect of the design process to create a shoe that truly reflects me as a person and as an athlete. From the new innovation in the KAWHI II to the inspiration behind “New Money” colorway, I hope the next generation of athletes strive for excellence on and off the court.”
The New Balance KAWHI II is a significantly lighter version of Kawhi’s original signature shoe, which was a request made from the athlete himself. This second version packs in new performance technologies in order to achieve Kawhi’s goal of a lighter, more explosive version. The KAWHI II features an updated performance plate that works in conjunction with the full-length FuelCell midsole providing the ultimate energy return. Another new performance feature, developed by the NB Hoops designed team, is FitWeave Lite, a light-weight woven textile meant to have a more lightweight, customizable fit; giving players adaptive stretch and support where they need it.
“Kawhi wanted to honor his gameplay and deliver a shoe that spoke to him as an individual,” explains Jonathan Grondin, New Balance Design Director. “Together with our Sports Research Lab we developed innovative technologies for today’s basketball athlete in the new KAWHI II. Working with an athlete of Kawhi’s caliber is so exciting, he comes to every meeting with ideas we can truly create together and is always willing to do something different.”
The New Balance KAWHI signature series continues to be all about Kawhi putting a personal stamp on his signature product. New Balance and Kawhi will deliver additional colorways in the coming months giving further insight into Kawhi the person, athlete and entrepreneur. For more information on the latest releases, visit https://www.newbalance.com/kawhi-leonard/.
About New Balance
New Balance Athletics, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. Manufactured in the U.S. for more than 75 years and representing a limited portion of our U.S. sales, New Balance MADE U.S. is a premium collection that contains a domestic value of 70% or greater. New Balance owns five factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K. New Balance employs more than 7,000 associates around the globe, and in 2021 reported worldwide sales of $4.4 billion. To learn more about New Balance, please visit www.newbalance.com and for the latest press information please visit http://newbalance.newsmarket.com.