Bringing Home the Bakin: Tim Hardaway Jr. Wears His Dad's Shoe in Heat Debut
PublishedQuick Facts
- Tim Hardaway Jr. wore the Nike Air Bakin in his debut for the Miami Heat
- His father, Tim Hardaway Sr. was famously the face of the OG Air Bakin when he played for the Miami Heat in 1997
- This is the third team that both Junior and Senior have played for during their careers, following the Mavs and Nuggets.
- The Nike Air Bakin in the OG colorway is available now
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When we hear the term “Dad Shoe,” we’ve unfortunately been conditioned to imagine a vanilla, chunky cross-trainer that’s not quite a running shoe but not really a casual lifestyle silhouette, either. It’s like scientifically engineered for mowing the lawn and yelling upstairs that you didn’t finish unloading the dishwasher.
Honey, I Blew Up the Kicks
Over the years since the trend took hold, the ‘Dad Shoe’ has evolved like a Pikamen or Pookachoo or whatever your dad calls those silly little creatures on the cards. Fashion houses looked at Dad Shoes through the distorted lens of a crazy carnival funhouse mirror, competing to see who could make them more gargantuan, like some weird sneakerhead Honey I Blew Up the Kicks fever dream. Meanwhile, brands like New Balance, which basically invented the Dad Shoe, leaned in, celebrating their simplicity with campaigns like Grey Days.
Generational Heat
But not all fatherly footwear is created equal. To some, Dad Shoes mean something completely different. Take Tim Hardaway, Jr. for example. The seasoned NBA vet has been around the block, actually playing in more games at this point than his Hall of Fame dad, Tim Hardaway, Sr. But last night, while making his debut for the Miami Heat, a team his dad starred on in the late 90s and early 2000s, Junior paid tribute to pops in a way only he could.
When he took the court for the first time donning the black, red, and yellow of Heat Culture, the 3-point threat was donning Nike’s Air Bakin retro in the iconic OG colorway. You see, Tim Hardaway didn’t technically have a signature sneaker with Nike, but he basically did, and it was Eric Avar’s 1997 masterpiece, the Air Bakin.
Bringing Home the Bakin
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Sr. have played on a few of the same teams, albeit in separate decades, including the Mavs and Nuggets, but it’s extra special for the NBA legend’s son to suit up for the Heat, where dad played some of his best basketball.
Nike brought back the Bakin earlier this year in the OG colorway, with the Varsity Royal colorway slated to drop later this year. Plus, they teased the first-ever Air Bakin Low at ComplexCon as part of an upcoming collab with Jae Tips, who left Saucony for The Swoosh.
There are a ton of sneaker storylines to track in the new NBA season, from signature athletes switching teams to which pairs the champs paired with their new rings, but it’s hard to top a heartwarmer like a kid paying tribute to his dad by wearing his old shoe for his old team, while fulfilling his own dreams.
Love to see it, also kind of need a pair of Bakins now. If you do too, hit the Sole Retriever mobile app for the latest restock.
Drew oversees content at Sole Retriever and hates writing in the 3rd person soooo I'm going to stop. Ran The Hundreds Blog in LA for a long time before moving back east to make cool commercials and funny tweets at [insert big agency]. Now I'm doing what I really love: talking sneakers, streetwear, and everything in between. Email me at drew@soleretriever.com with scoops and size 13 heat.
