After less than a decade of existence, the American Basketball Association merged with the NBA in 1976 and ceased to exist. Nearly 45 years later, Converse has released an ABA-inspired capsule for select basketball sneakers to honor that former league.
All three silhouettes feature an enamel red, white and rush blue color scheme. The All Star BB Evo continues the model’s stark split-shoe design, adding a dash of gold to the signature Converse Star Chevron logo. The G4 includes subtle asymmetric red and blue detailing between the shoe’s medial and lateral sides. The ABA logo appears on the tongue of both shoes.
The Chuck 70 rounds out the capsule. The classic lifestyle-driven shoe features an all-over, print-graphic upper sporting the logos of the some of the defunct league’s former franchises. Featured teams include the San Diego Conquistadors, the Pittsburgh Condors and the Oakland Oaks.
The Converse ABA capsule is available at converse.com and select global retailers, priced between $85-$120.
The Chuck 70 ABA arrives a few weeks after Converse released another take on the classic to support getting out the Black vote. The collaboration with streetwear-focused Denim Tears reimagined the Chuck 70 as an expression of Black identity, applying the red, black and green of the African-American flag to the canvas shoe. The brands accompanied the shoe launch with contributions to voting organizations, including Black Voters Matter and the artist collective For Freedoms.
As the NBA took to the court again this summer following a four-month hiatus, Converse’s parent company Nike released several shoes capitalizing on the return. The centerpiece of these launches was the new variations of the Lebron 17. Other new models included the Zoom Freak 2, the second signature shoe built on the unique athletic prowess of 2018-2019 NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo; Kevin Durant’s KD13 Nike Nationals; and Paul George’s PG4 Gatorade and PG4 PCG2.