Seimone Augustus' First Pair Of Basketball Shoes

This story is part of Only A Game's Thanksgiving Leftovers Show. Find the full episode here.

Seimone Augustus is a four-time WNBA champion with the Minnesota Lynx — and a lifelong sneaker lover. These days, she wears shoes custom-painted with her favorite cartoon characters. But back in the early ’90s, one pair of shoes got it all started.

"I was like 6 or 7 years old," Augustus remembers.

"My mom told my dad to go and get me some basketball shoes. We had a game coming up. And we went to Lady Foot Locker, and my dad just basically walked in and was, like, ‘What’s your best basketball shoe?’ And the young lady pointed us into the direction of the Jordan shoes. Like, ‘Everyone's coming in buying these. So I have to assume that these are the best.’

"The price at the time I think was, like, $110. And it was well over our budget. Obviously, my mom wouldn’t approve of spending $100 on my first pair of basketball sneakers. But my dad did, and he was, like, ‘It should be just — don't tell your mother how much they cost.’

"At that moment, I didn’t know, you know, who Michael Jordan was. Like, I was becoming a fan, learning the game. But I just knew the shoes looked cool and I was wearing them.

"Got home, Mom's, like, ‘You got shoes?’ I was, like, ‘Yeah.’ Showed her the shoes. She was, like, ‘Oh, they’re beautiful.’ Blah blah blah … ‘Where’s the receipt?’ And I just kind of, like, walked off. I was like, ‘Ope, it’s time for me to go.’

"My dad left the receipt in his pocket, she was washing laundry and found a receipt. And she bit his head off for spending $110 on my first pair of basketball shoes.

"I loved them. They look great. I look good in them. And all the kids was, like, ‘Oh, you got the Air Jordans on!’

"That basically started the whole shoe thing for me."

Our original story on Seimone Augustus and the history of women's signature basketball sneakers aired on Oct. 20, 2018.