Jayson Tatum is the newest and youngest player to be signed by Jordan Brand. He has his spot in the Jordan Sports category. From the tunnel to the court, where he’s made the Boston Celtics one of the best teams in the NBA, the 25-year-old from St. Louis walks into the arena every night with a swagger that makes even the most basic outfits look beautiful.
Split between Flight and Speed, the four-time All-Star and his bright smile belong to the high-flying side of the Beaverton brand’s on-court history. They also show off how efficient his shot choices and footwork are. Tatum and the Jumpman banner have been supporting one of the most dangerous players in the NBA since the start of his colorway journey with Kelsey Amy on the Air Jordan 34. This Christmas, the Jordan Tatum 2 will be released, marking the next step in their relationship.
“Tatum walks in a lot of different styles, even loud ones because he just looks and acts cool all the time.” We know that he likes the bluesy, funk vibe of his shoe. Bryant Klug, Senior Footwear Designer for Jordan Sport, said, “He likes to let the shoe speak for him to show how excited he is about the game and how confident he is, even though he’s a little quieter.”
The Jordan Tatum 2 builds on the efficient design language of his first shoe, with a familiar low-top trim and tongue construction that is based on that shoe’s layered textile upper and a smooth leather asymmetrical quarter patch and mudguard. The Tatum 2 doesn’t have a hollowed-out bottom unit like the Tatum 1, but it does have two textile-cushioned pods that are stamped on the midsole and upper for both style and function.
Based on Tatum’s emotionless personality, the design team tried to capture the same feeling he gives off on the court: a foot that is completely numb to pressure, both literally and metaphorically. “When we thought about what that would feel like, we thought of a light shoe that removes pressure from the foot from high-pressure parts or pressure inside the shoe.” We were trying to find a combination that was stable and contained without giving up a great worn-in feel. “That is where these big soft pods come from,” Klug said.
The Jordan Sport design team looked at Tatum’s foot and mapped out the areas with the most pressure, which were in the middle of the foot and the pinky toe. This helped make the Tatum 1’s lightweight frame more comfortable all season. According to Klug, the second type of technology is a “efficiency hack” because it lets a part of the shoe do useful things without losing support and stability. There are two striking soft foam and textile pods on the outside and inside of the side walls. These give immediate relief as the outside of the foot pushes out into the upper during every cut, step, and protective slide. Rather than using space like the 1 did with a light TPU frame, the big foam frame acts as a border around Tatum’s foot, keeping it stable while it moves in different directions.
Tatum told us again and again that he needs shoes that can bend with his foot. “His main goal is to keep the shoe on his foot during all of his footwork and get rid of those lags where the foot moves in the shoe on its own,” Klug said.
The Jordan Tatum 2 was made because Tatum wanted to be one with his shoe. But because the Tatum 1 had a lot of ground contact foam, it wasn’t very durable for players in outdoor areas or during repeated indoor runs. Klug and the design team were already halfway through building when a lot of feedback about how durable it was came in. When the third version of the Tatum 1 came out, Klug, who is in charge of Tatum’s signature series, made some changes to the model’s base to add more rubber to the toe and heel, which are high-traffic areas.
Derek Foster, Senior Product Line Manager at Jordan Brand, said, “On the Tatum 2, we looked at Jayson’s secret skill, which is his durability. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for that.”
Tatum played in the most games (74) and the fewest minutes per night (just under 37) of the 10 players picked for the NBA’s First and Second teams last season. The Jordan Tatum 2 is designed to give Tatum the comfortable support he needs for a whole season, while the Tatum 1 was focused on getting the most energy return out of a single game. Still, the design team made the Tatum 2, which weighs only 13.05 ounces in a men’s size 9, the lightest signature shape in the brand’s line-up right now.
There are two cloth pods and a full-length Zoom Strobel system that adds cushioning to the Tatum 2. This system is the same from his first shoe. Because there will be more foam and rubber on the fully-fledged sole unit, Klug says that the heel-to-toe shift will be much smoother than on the 2022 model. When you walk on them, the colors of the cloth pods change to match the extra rubber in the tread.