Just pursue it: UCLA guard David Singleton’s Jordan collection is study in dedication
UCLA guard David Singleton talks about why he collects shoes and shows off some of his prized shoe possessions.
NEW YORK — For his great love, David Singleton has stood in the rain to see it.
Used an app to find it.
Driven many miles to go get it.
Cradling its soft, supple leather in his hands and looking deep into its colorful eyelets, the UCLA shooting guard knew he made the perfect choice.
“I always like the feel, the comfort and how it catches the eye,” he said.
Commitment can be tricky, however. Singleton freely confesses to favoring variety. He becomes smitten anew almost daily, constantly searching for the next one he might fancy.
There’s always another pair of Air Jordans to add to his collection of unknown proportions.
“I’ve lost count,” he said. “It’s still growing. I have two pairs on the way as we speak.”
The newest Niketown resides inside a Westwood apartment. More than 150 pairs of basketball shoes, the preponderance of them Jordans, cram an anteroom and a walk-in closet. Boxes are stacked upon boxes, some nearly touching the ceiling. Other pairs rest atop the boxes. Everything is organized by model and color. See-through plastic containers below one shelf display a rainbow of hues.
“His closet’s really ridiculous,” said teammate Jaylen Clark, a recipient of one of the roughly 40 tours Singleton has given. “Like really, really ridiculous.”
Singleton broke out his Drake Nikes for UCLA’s 27-point rout of Maryland on Wednesday, reasoning that the Bruins were relatively close to the home of the Canadian rapper. He wore weatherproof Jordan 9 boots in the rain once the team reached New York as part of this East Coast trip.
There’s no telling what he’ll put on for No. 16 UCLA’s Saturday afternoon showdown against No. 13 Kentucky at Madison Square Garden as part of the CBS Sports Classic.
“I try to stay away from wearing the same shoes twice in a row,” he said, “because that’s no fun doing that.”
Many of his size-14 pairs have never been worn. Singleton refuses to wear the Jordan 9s that NBA legend Steve Nash signed above the toes during a visit to Singleton’s high school in Torrance. The off-white Jordan 1s — the pair he would save in a fire — are reserved for special occasions.
Yes, the collection is insured. No one knows exactly how much all these shoes are worth, but it’s not hard to do some back-of-the-napkin math given that pairs can easily go for $150 or more and Singleton sometimes pays a premium for older models. Each pair also gets a custom insole, extra protection for the one foot he broke in high school and the other foot he broke as a freshman at UCLA.
“He has a nice policy in case something happens,” said Natalie Singleton, David’s mother. “I’m proud of that.”
Always on the prowl for more Jordans, David once bought a rare pair off a stranger’s feet — which happened to be his size — helping to fill a hole in his collection after he had missed the release of that model.
Singleton has given away one pair to a UCLA fan (a gesture he doesn’t regret) and thrown another away while in ninth grade (a huge regret). He discarded that pair of Jordan 3s only because they were heavily worn size 13½s.
“That was the last time,” he said, lamenting his inability to replace them. “I’ll never throw away any pair of shoes again, even if I wear them.”
His mother also encouraged his tossing out some Ferrari Jordans for fear the bright-red color would be mistaken for a gang affiliation, never contemplating that he could just store them in a closet as part of a collection.
Jaylen Clark scored 19 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 and No. 16 UCLA cruised to an 87-60 win over future Big Ten rival Maryland on Wednesday.
The stacking of boxes began his sophomore year at Bishop Montgomery High. Those vivid sneakers were a way to express himself while wearing the obligatory tan or black pants along with a black, white or gold polo or white oxford shirt that were part of his Catholic school uniform.
Nearby shoe store owners started telling him when any size 14s would arrive so he could check them out before they went on sale. Singleton scoured websites for cool models and downloaded an app that told him where he might be able to find them. His mother drove him to Long Beach so they could wait in the rain to buy one pair.
While respecting the hobby, Natalie and the elder David Singleton have also cautioned their son to be responsible and live within his means. Singleton swears he doesn’t spend his entire disposable income on shoes, but that might change if he can ever find the original Air Jordans from 1985 in his size.
“I only can find them in size 11, 11½,” he said. “I already looked.”
Even though Singleton has never met his idol, Jordan remains a constant presence in his life. A UCLA videographer smartly trained a camera on Singleton two years ago to capture his reaction when the school announced it was switching to Jordan Brand. It felt like Christmas when Singleton had the new school-issued Jordan gear waiting for him inside the team’s Indianapolis hotel on the way to the 2021 Final Four.
Hanging over the entryway to Singleton’s closet is an NBA poster inspired by Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” featuring Jordan and his contemporaries gathered at a table. Filmmaker Spike Lee, reprising his role as Mars Blackmon from the old Nike commercials, sits atop a rim in the background.
When it comes to Singleton playing the best basketball of his career, it’s gotta be everything but the shoes.
The sixth man is averaging 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists while making a Pac-12-leading 50% of his three-pointers — all career highs — thanks to tireless work and an expanded role. His 26.7 minutes per game are also the most of his five seasons as a Bruin.
With the holidays approaching, friends and family are spared guesswork as to the perfect gift.
“People are like, ‘You already have shoes, I want to get you something different,’ ” Singleton said. “I’m like, ‘I thought you wanted to make me happy.’ ”
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