Dennis Rodman, the NBA Hall of Famer, has accused Travis Scott of copying the backward swoosh he helped introduce with the Nike Air Darwin.
During a recent sneaker convention, the five-time NBA champion claimed Travis Scott used the same logo flip on his Air Jordan collaborations that the sportswear brand had on the Nike Air Darwin.
“Travis Scott has copied my shoe,” Rodman said. “I was the first guy to do mine backward when I was playing with the Chicago Bulls. Come on, Travis, give me some credit. You copied my shit. This ain’t new, but either way, congratulations.”
Modern-day sneaker enthusiasts lost their minds when La Flame and Jordan Brand teased the Travis Scott Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG in 2019. The sneaker came in a Mocha colorway with an accompanying backward Nike swoosh and had many people believe that Travis and Nike were doing something innovative.
Dennis Rodman accuses Travis Scott of ripping off his shoe design https://t.co/52WCdDsvQrpic.twitter.com/ADrYpFQVRZ
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) March 16, 2023
However, the backward swoosh design was first used in 1994 on the Nike Air Darwin that Dennis Rodman wore throughout his time with the San Antonio Spurs. Rodman laced up the kicks in the latter half of his first season and the beginning stages of his second with the Spurs. The shoe didn’t officially bear his name or likeness, but many still considered it to be a signature sneaker.
Nike has placed the backward swoosh on 10 different sneakers from the Travis Scott collection, including the Air Jordan 1, the Air Max 1, the Air Max 270 and more.
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Six months after the Astroworld Festival tragedy, Travis Scott and Nike resumed working on their collaborative efforts after putting a pause on things, dropping the Air Trainer 1, which drew over one million raffle entries in just 30 minutes.
Scott put his own spin on the Nike staple, which arrived in two different colorways with a Grey Haze option alongside Chocolate. Obviously, Nike didn’t manufacture enough pairs to meet the demand, so a lot of fans were left empty-handed in getting a pair.
However, those willing to hunt for the kicks, can try their hand in the resale market on StockX. Prices range from as low as $145 to $500.
