Game-Worn Shoes from the 2020 NBA Bubble In A Display Case

 

Recently, we received a shoutout from @JoshInPDX on Twitter saying we had "legit cases". This shoutout was accompanied by a photo that caught our attention: an autographed pair of game-worn basketball shoes from Portland Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum showcased in our A082 Shoe Display Case. Most interesting of all, these shoes were worn during the 2020 NBA Bubble, or as some sports analysts called it, "The Disney Bubble" as all of the games were played at Walt Disney World in Florida. The shoes were worn while playing against the No. 9 seeded Memphis Grizzlies for two games, and a five game series against the No. 1 seeded Los Angeles Lakers which concluded with LA winning the series 4-1 and thus eliminating the Portland Trail Blazers from the NBA playoffs on August 29th, 2020. The pair of shoes are Li-Ning Yushuai 13 Mens' Basketball Shoes. McCollum is the main brand ambassador for the Chinese shoe brand after he signed a 5-yeard endorsement deal with them in 2017. Josh says he won the shoes in an online raffle with proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of Portland Metro.

So who is CJ McCollum?

CJ McCollum is a shooting guard in the NBA who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers. He is widely considered to be one of the team's star players and often leads in scoring. He was first drafted into the NBA in 2013 and spent 2 years as a reserve before being elevated to the starting position as a shooting guard. The 2015-2016 NBA season proved to be a breakout season for McCollum, who earned the NBA's Most Improved Player award. At the time of this writing, he is currently recovering from a left foot injury and is unfortunately expected to miss several games. Outside of basketball, McCollum happens to be a huge wine enthusiast. In fact, during the NBA Bubble he brought 84 bottles of wine with him and set the thermostat in his hotel room to a chilly 55 degrees Fahrenheit to keep his wine chilled! Brrrrrr! He even has his own wine label called McCollum Heritage 91, an Oregon Pinot Noir with notes of cedar spice & cherries. Unfortunately, the marketing team at Better Display Cases was unable to review this wine before publishing time because it was sold out. Although none of us can enjoy that bubbly goodness right now, Better Display Cases does offer wine bottle display stands for you to prominently display your other bottles of wine.

But Wait! There's More!

The pair of CJ McCollum shoes wasn't the only item that Josh had on display in one of our display cases! He also had a promotional basketball that was autographed by the 1971-72 Portland Trail Blazers team in our A001 Basketball Display Case! Visible player signatures include: Rick Adelman, Darrall Imhoff, Charlie Yelverton, Geoff Petrie, Gary Gregor, Bill Smith, along with the signature of interim head coach Stu Inman. Pretty cool!

 

 

 

Notice: This blog is not intended to imply endorsement of Better Display Cases or its products by CJ McCollum, McCollum Heritage 91, Li-Ning, the NBA or any other affiliated persons or brands.