SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell is in the midst of a career year, both on and off the court. At age 31, the LA Clippers guard is the leading scorer on a team that’s surprised everybody in the West, and maybe even a couple of folks in the Manhattan Beach at the Skechers headquarters.
Heading into NBA All-Star Weekend, Skechers officially announced the signing of Norman Powell to a shoe deal, making him the fourth player in the NBA to sign with the company. Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, and Terance Mann were first announced last year.
Over the last month, Powell has started to wear Skechers’ “SKX NEXUS” in his games, a shoe that then-LA Clippers teammate Terance Mann also wore before he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Many began wondering if this was simply a coincidence, since Powell’s teammate was a Skechers athlete, or the potential start of a partnership.
In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints at All-Star Weekend, Clippers guard Norman Powell broke down his decision to join Skechers, a show company not known for their basketball sneakers, as well as both sides’ commitment to his foundation, “Understand the Grind.”
(@bellikemike)“I feel like people are caught up with the name,” Clippers’ guard Norman Powell told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “But I feel like in today’s age, in the NBA especially, so many different shoe companies are coming out with basketball trying to get their hands into this sport because it’s such a growing sport around the world and a good business.”
As part of the partnership, Skechers personalized two new colors in the SKX NEXUS especially for Powell to wear during the 3-Point contest at the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend. Designed with key phrases and mantras that are meaningful to Powell, these player-exclusive pairs pay homage to his basketball career and to all those who have helped him along the way.
Norman Powell on joining Skechers and “Understand The Grind”
Tomer Azarly: Congratulations on joining Skechers, first and foremost. When did this first start? We’ve seen you wear the kicks to Clippers games over the last few weeks, but when did this officially come about?
Norman Powell: Probably a little bit over a month and a half ago. Terance [Mann] texted me about if I was interested at first and then they reached out to AJ, my trainer. Well, you know AJ.
But yeah, they asked me about it. I tried on their shoes and they were super, super comfortable. Then I met with them at one of the main offices in Manhattan Beach. I just kind of went over the story about the development of them getting into the NBA on the basketball side of things, the technology behind the basketball shoe. The comfort was the biggest thing for me. It felt really good and then just started to build out from there.
TA: You’re having a career year with the Clippers. Why did Skechers feel like the right fit for you at this point? After all, they’re not really known as a basketball shoe.
Norman Powell: I know. I feel like people are caught up with the name, but I feel like in today’s age, in the NBA especially, so many different shoe companies are coming out with basketball shoes trying to get their hands into this sport because it’s such a growing sport around the world and a good business. You see a lot of shoe companies that don’t normally have a basketball shoe start to open up operations in the basketball realm.
I thought it was a great fit, not only just because they’re brand new and they want to build and get into the game, but the partnership side of it. They’re really big in the community and giving back. And it wasn’t like they were trying to take advantage of me. They wanted me to be who I am. I’ll be able to keep my brand. A lot of the shoe deals that were thrown my way over the last two years, they wanted me to stop, “Understand the Grind,” which is who I am as a person. It’s my foundation. They—
TA: Really? They tried to have you give up your foundation, “Understand The Grind?”
Norman Powell: Yeah. But with Skechers, they weren’t just a partner. They wanted to be a part of what I’m doing in the community, help elevate my foundation side of things, help increase what I’m doing, and giving back to the next generation. I thought that was the selling point for me. Everything else is cool, the monetary stuff. It’s not going to be life-changing, but them helping and putting into my foundation is going to be life-changing for other people that I want to help motivate and improve their lives as well.
TA: Just to be clear, how much credit does your former Clippers teammate, Terance Mann, get here? Given he was a Skechers athlete first?
Norman Powell: He gets a lot of the credit. He’s one of the first people to join the Skechers family. Him, Joel [Embiid], and Julius [Randle]. He gets a lot of the credit. He was pumping it up. When he first had them on last year, people were talking about it, making fun of him for wearing Skechers because, like you said, they’re not known for a basketball shoe. He had confidence in it. He felt good. When I tried them on, I could see why he went with them. I definitely feel better wearing the shoes. My feet don’t hurt. They feel like I’m walking on clouds. I still got the support that I need. I feel like I have a little extra bounce. Like I said, the technology and the backing that they’ve put into their company with the shoes [is incredible], but this basketball shoe as well is top tier.
TA: You have two different custom shoe colorways specifically for All-Star Weekend with some important design points. How did they come together so quickly?
Norman Powell: When I was signing to them — we finally agreed upon terms and what the contract was going to look like — we started talking about All-Star, me potentially being one, and being invited to the Three-Point Contest. I wanted to do something around there that would be great for the launch of it, me signing and welcoming me to the family. I wanted to have my own customs. The black ones with the neon green was already a colorway that they had out. We just added the badges and things because we didn’t have time to create my own PE’s. That takes over two months to make. They had some unreleased versions, which was the light blue and pink shoes, kind of giving Easter vibes. I thought that would be great pop to kick off the partnership with them. I did the same thing, added my custom badges, some things that relate to my story and how I got here.
TA: I know you’re a big shoe-head. We’ve seen you wear Kobe’s in a lot of Clippers games. I’m sure you’re a very particular guy when it comes to shoes. Was it hard to make a decision, given that you’ve had other offers in the past and you’re very particular about some things?
Norman Powell: It wasn’t really hard. I was with AND1 after my Nike contract when I first came into the league expired. They came in and I felt like it was similar to what Skechers was doing. Skechers was able to actually follow through with the business side of things and what they have planned. That partnership is huge, especially for me. Like I said, the money is going to be the money. It’s not going to be life-changing. The fact that it’s a partnership and they’re letting me still keep who I am through “Understand The Grind” is a selling point.
Like I said, a lot of these companies want to give the players the least amount of money possible and control who they are because they want them to rep their company only. They kind of take advantage of the players because it’s all about them. But with two deals and companies like Skechers — you know what, I’ll shout out PUMA and those guys — it’s about partnering. We’ve been told that, as athletes, we are our own brand, that we got to build our brand up, and that we’re our own business. I think Skechers understands that and they want to partner with, they want to grow together. And I’m all about that. How they started out. How I started out. They’re not known for basketball shoes. Nobody thought I was going to be here, but they have a lot of confidence and motivation in building and becoming one of the top basketball shoe brands in the NBA and just around globally, so I definitely wanted to be a part of that that build that climb.
TA: Last thing I want to talk about is this jacket. This is nice, talk to me about what went into this.
Norman Powell: Yeah man, I just got with my stylist. Like I said, being a part of All-Star Weekend for the first time, I wanted to show who I am. I thought there was gonna be a good platform to actually tell my story, and that’s what this jacket is all about. Obviously, you’ve got the Three-Point Contest patch on there. And then it has the 6-1-9 patches from where I from, San Diego’s [area code]. My jersey number patch here and inside it, over my heart, has my uncle Raymond. He’s the one that got me started in basketball. He’s the reason why I’m here. And then obviously want to incorporate the Clippers colors for where I’m at. And then I got an “Understand The Grind” patch because that’s my lifestyle mantra and motto.
Norm steppin’ out tonight
#Starry3PT | #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/nFhp1B6MJb
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 15, 2025
TA: It’s really nice. Congratulations again.
Norman Powell: Thank you, sir.
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In 45 games this season, Clippers guard Norman Powell is averaging 24.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 49.6 percent shooting from the field and 42.8 percent from three. His points, assists, steals, and field goal percentage this season are all career-high averages.
The post Exclusive: Clippers’ Norman Powell reveals why he joined Skechers and commitment to Understand The Grind foundation appeared first on ClutchPoints.
