New Balance is giving Tyrese Maxey his first signature shoe, the Maxey v1, arriving this fall in a black and blue colorway.
New Balance re-entered basketball in 2018 when it signed Kawhi Leonard, and the brand has been building the category slowly since, adding names like Cameron Brink and Maxey rather than chasing a single tentpole athlete. Maxey wore the shoe on court during the 2026 NBA Playoffs, and an early look surfaced in April before New Balance shared official images.
The design pulls from the lifestyle side of the line, particularly the 9060. You can see it in the wavy paneling across the upper, the sculpted midsole, and the shape around the heel, with a lacing setup that borrows from the 2002. Cushioning comes from FuelCell paired with a two-piece plate rather than one full-length plate, the midfoot is built for containment, and a multidirectional outsole handles traction. The cut also sits lower than the rest of New Balance’s basketball line.
This proves New Balance is comfortable letting its basketball shoes look like New Balance shoes. Maxey specifically wanted a design that read as the brand without leaning on the N logo, and the result borrows the visual language of the 9060 instead of the language of every other guard shoe on the market. Whether that works on court is a separate question, but it is a real point of view.
Release details: $130, releasing October 2, 2026. More colorways are expected during the 2026-27 NBA season.
Where to buy: New Balance and select retailers.
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