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Nike Investigating After Duke Freshman Zion Williamson’s Shoe Blows Out, Causes Knee Sprain

Zion Williamson’s shoe disintegrated after 34 seconds of play.

Nike says it’s looking into any possible design flaws after superstar Duke freshman Zion Williamson was injured when his shoe blew out. Williamson was injured during the 88-72 loss to North Carolina, with Coach Mike Krzyzewski diagnosing it as a “mild knee sprain.” Zion sustained the injury when he turned in one direction and one of his PG 2.5s—a custom brand of Nike shoes modeled after Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George—appeared to disintegrate. Nike issued a statement saying: “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery... The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.” Williamson played just 34 seconds in total before the incident. His well-wishers included Barack Obama, who was at the game and tweeted: “Zion Williamson seems like an outstanding young man as well as an outstanding basketball player. Wishing him a speedy recovery.”