Langston Galloway brings his love for sneakers to Team USA

MIAMI (United States) -  If you would’ve told 10-year-old Langston Galloway what his life would be like today, he wouldn’t have believed you.

Growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana he had a passion for two things: sneakers and basketball. The shoes were hard to come by and he was never the most physically gifted player, but that didn’t stop him from wanting it all.

Galloway realized he had a penchant for sneakers by flipping through Eastbay magazines, which were more like catalogs for young kids to long for some things that were simply unattainable. The pages full of new shoes gave him something to strive for.

I used to just look through them, I never could afford them, but I would just look through them every single day and say ‘man, I wish I could get this pair.’

 As a 30-year-old, he can still tell you the first real pair of sneakers he owned. The pair that solidified his love for kicks. The ones that made it from the magazine into real life. The Jordan 13 ‘He Got Game.’ The shoes first released in 1997 and got their nickname after being prominently featured in Spike Lee’s film, “He Got Game,” starring Denzel Washington and then-future Hall of Famer Ray Allen.

Now, Galloway is getting ready to represent Team USA as a member of the World Cup Qualifying Team in games against Puerto Rico and Mexico during the second competition window of the FIBA World Cup Americas Qualifiers in Washington, D.C. this week.

"It’s a huge opportunity. I’m excited to represent the country," Galloway said. "Just to be able to play basketball against competition outside of the US, that’s everything. I’m grateful they selected me to represent and I’m ready to show out."

Wearing ‘USA’ on the front of his jersey was always a goal of his, but Galloway’s path in basketball hasn't been easy. He was undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in 2014 and started his professional career in the NBA’s Developmental League, but it wasn't long before he made his NBA debut for the New York Knicks. He finished his rookie season as the first undrafted player in franchise history to make an All-Rookie Team.

Galloway bounced around the NBA early in his career, playing for three teams in his first three seasons. He found some stability after signing a 3-year, $21 million contract with the Detroit Pistons in 2017. It wasn’t too long after this that he started making his mark as one of the NBA’s most-highly recognized sneakerheads.

After the NBA loosened its restrictions on what color footwear players could wear on the court ahead of the 2018 season, Galloway saw that as an opening to show off his creativity and personality through his sneakers. He developed a connection with a sneaker customizer based out of Las Vegas and they got to work. The goal was to be innovative and break out as many unique custom kicks as possible, it reached the point where Galloway was aiming for a different custom pair of his Q4 sneakers for every game of the season.

I was like, ‘I’m going to change the game!’ That was so fun to me because it really embodies who you are and who you want to become. You look good, feel good, play good.

Galloway could stock up a museum with the amount of one-of-one custom shoes he wore in his time in Detroit. A special pair he wore on Dec. 15, 2018, against the Boston Celtics actually made into a museum. The custom design, based on the movie "Toy Story," featured Buzz Lightyear on one shoe and Sheriff Woody on the other. The shoes went viral on social media and were eventually sent off to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Even before his time in Detroit came to an end, Galloway was already planning another big-time move and it once again involved his two passions. He wanted to start his own sneaker brand, something he could wear on the court and, eventually, other athletes could too.

Two long years passed from early concept conversations in a Detroit diner to finally lacing up his first pair in the 2021 NBA Finals. That’s when ETHICS was born. Galloway, then a member of the Phoenix Suns, debuted his shoe on basketball’s biggest stage after a playoff run in which he showed off how extensive his sneaker collection really was with several rare player exclusives and vintage retros.

"It was all about ownership. for the players, by the players - that was my whole concept,” Galloway said. "I couldn’t have fathomed this when I was starting my journey just collecting sneakers to now having my own shoe. It’s truly amazing."

Galloway built his own sneaker brand from scratch. The shoe collection he imagined as a child currently ranges to about 3,500 total pairs. He’s displayed his collection while playing in an NBA Finals and now, when he will represent his country on Team USA.

All things he can tell you today, he never saw coming, even if you would’ve told him it was all going to happen.

I would have laughed. I’m 6-2 from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I would have laughed at you. No way, not possible. As a kid growing up you dream of stuff like this. Going undrafted you say, ‘it’s going to be a tough journey to get to the NBA.’ It’s crazy. No words that could explain it.

FIBA