Penny Hardaway reports 26 pairs of "one-of-kind" Foamposite shoes stolen from his $4.2 million home
Former NBA star Penny Hardaway revealed this week that his $4.2 million home was burglarized by a man who was caught on camera following the incident. According to ESPN, footage showed a man pushing a shopping cart full of boxes near the vicinity of Hardaway's home.
On Thursday, police arrested a suspect in connection with the burglary after the former hooper revealed in an interview with Memphis TV's local outlet WREG that 26 one-of-a-kind pairs of his signature Foamposite shoes were stolen. NBA players with signature shoes often get several exclusive player editions of their shoes that are never released to the public.
The suspect arrested in the case was a 42-year-old man named Ronald James, who according to an ESPN report was charged with theft of property. Despite his arrest, it's unclear whether or not police were able to recover the stolen goods, or if the individual had already sold or moved the shoes.
Because it sounds as though the shoes stolen weren't just ordinary Nike Foamposites, it could wind up being easier to track them down if police haven't done so already.
Looking at the origins and the success of Nike and Penny Hardaway's Foamposite shoe
While Nike and Penny Hardaway have released many versions of the Nike Air Penny shoe, the defining release of the partnership has been the Foamposite line.
Back in the '90s, after Penny Hardaway signed with Nike, he had a meeting with the company to discuss his first signature shoe. During the meeting, Nike designer Eric Avar brought the high-flying guard a bag with a number of different prototypes.
When Penny took a peak inside the bag, the prototype of the Foamposite caught his eye. At the time, Nike apparently had plans to make the design part of Scottie Pippen's signature sneaker line. However, Hardaway was immediately intrigued. As he explained in an interview with CashlessSociety TV:
"They brought a lot of different sneakers. You know, they usually have these makeups, and I saw the sneaker in there, and I was like, 'What is this?' and he was like, 'This is a Foamposite.' 'Oh, this is dope; I would rock this.' They like, 'You serious?' I was like, 'Yes,' and the rest is history,"
Since then, Nike has continued to release various colorways of the Foamposites over the years, long after Hardaway retired and walked away from professional basketball.
While Penny Hardaway is now coaching at the NCAA level, the significance of the Foamposites hasn't faded.