Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell is one of the new generation of young starts taking over the NBA stage. In NBA for 4 years, with his strong offensive ability, he not only became the core of the team, but also became an important member of adidas. This year, Adidas has released the third pair of signature shoes for Donovan Mitchell, that is, D.O.N. ISSUE #3.
Design Philosophy:
As the star of Utah Jazz, Adidas specifically use the team’s classic colorway purple as the first released colorway of D.O.N. ISSUE #3. The entire shoes is covered with graffiti art from Mitchell’s hometown New York city. And Mitchell is the spider-man of basketball court, the shoe tongue is printed with his exclusive spider logo which is made of reflective material.
The side vamp has sawtooth pattern TPU which represents the spider sense. And the designers also printed FEARLESS/DRIVE & GRIT/HEART on the elastic tape above the instep. The shoe heel has a piece of triangle leather label which is printed with some numbers and address. These numbers and address represent Mitchell’s hometown New York’s 3 famous basketball court-Rucker Park, Dyckman Park and Crack Is Wack Playground.
Comfort Level & Cushion Performance:
It’s the first time that D.O.N. ISSUE series shoes use Lightstrike technology on ISSUE #3 to replace the Bounce insole technology. Lightstrike material is lighter than Bounce. Lightstrike is more solid than Bounce. But the resilient feedback of Lightstrike is better than Bounce. The cushion performance is also great.
The vamp of D.O.N. ISSUE #3 uses multi-layers mesh fabric with thick foam to offer comfort fit to the foot, but it adds the weight. The elastic tape on the shoelaces position can offer the fitness to the foot. This design is suitable for the players whose instep is high or foot is wide.
Supporting Performance & Flexibility:
D.O.N. ISSUE #3 is a pair of low type basketball shoes. So it won’t affect the flexibility. It won’t limit the movements. The thick Lightstrike insole won’t affect the court feel, but it can balance the court feel and prevent the ankle eversion.
D.O.N. ISSUE #3 adds big area of TPU support. And the TPU extends to the sides of vamp. The sawtooth pattern TPU with outrigger design can offer excellent anti-rollover performance. And the shoe heel also has TPU to reinforce the fitness.
But after a period of time running, the fitness of D.O.N. ISSUE #3 will reduce. It needs to fasten the shoelaces tightly to reinforce the fitness.
Durability & Traction Performance:
The outsole of D.O.N. ISSUE #3 use two kinds of materials, that is, durable rubber and transparent rubber (crystal sole). The designer uses durable rubber on the position of forefoot thumb and shoe heel where is easy to wear and tear, and uses transparent on the other position. The overall durability is just ok.
The outsole has embossed spider web pattern. The traction performance on indoor court is excellent. It can grip the ground well.
Overall:
As the signature shoes of Mitchell, the price of D.O.N. ISSUE #3 is cheap. The appearance is attractive. The Lightstrike insole has excellent cushion performance. Although D.O.N. ISSUE #3 may not fit most of the the players, but the high cost performance and special colorway design are attractive.
