Nike and Will Leather Goods Team Up to Create Special Backpack for NBA All-Stars

Nike and Will Leather Goods Team Up to Create Special Backpack for NBA All-Stars

Don’t expect run-of-the-mill cinch bags on the backs of NBA players during this weekend’s All-Star festivities in New Orleans. No, not after Nike teamed up with Eugene, Ore., specialty leather bag maker Will Leather Goods for a co-branded effort at making even the backs of star players fashionable.

In Will Leather Goods’ first foray into the athletic world, they specifically created a new Frontier line of its upcoming Gridwax Collection backpacks, with larger proportions to more accurately fit NBA players. The bags will get filled with the shoes and uniforms of the players, a fashionable way to deliver them their game day wear.

The non-Nike Italian vegetable-tanned leather backpack will retail for us average folks at $695. And that is for the normal-sized version available May 1. You actually have to play in the All-Star Game to get the NBA-sized bag.

Tim Newcomb covers stadiums, design and technology for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.