Jonathan Isaac toys with idea of wearing Donald Trump’s new $399 sneakers during NBA game

Orlando Magic player Jonathan Isaac recently joked on social media that he may wear a pair of Donald Trump’s new shoes in a game.

The shoes, which are referred to as the Never Surrender High-Top Sneakers, are selling online for $399 per pair.

Isaac — who has been a member of the Magic ever since the team drafted him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft — has drawn headlines in the past for political reasons. Namely, he stood during the national anthem back in 2020, when players around the NBA knelt in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In an interview with Riley Gaines of OutKick in 2023, Isaac explained his reasoning for not kneeling during that time when many other NBA players were.

“For me, it was simply about offering another solution,” Isaac said. “I saw the issue. I saw the problem. I saw what happened to George Floyd. And as I listened to the tone and the rhetoric of the Black Lives Matter organization and movement, I never truly felt comfortable.”

Isaac has appeared in 38 games with the Magic so far during the 2023-24 regular season (not including the team’s game against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday) and is averaging 6.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from 3-point range.

The 26-year-old has put up impressive numbers on the defensive side of the ball for the Magic in the month of February, as he averaged 1.3 blocks and 0.8 steals per game before Saturday. Recently, he dropped seven points, seven rebounds, one assist and two blocks in the team’s seven-point road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 22.

There is still a lot of basketball left to be played in the 2023-24 regular season, but Isaac has already played the most games in one season since the 2018-19 season, which was just his second in the NBA. The injury bug has plagued him at times during his NBA career, as he missed the entirety of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons due to problems with his ACL.

Isaac’s next chance to don Trump’s shoes on an NBA court will come when the Magic play the Atlanta Hawks — who have lost three games in a row — on the road on Sunday.