The Officine Creative Tempus boots feels like a complete esthetic departure from the Don Issue 2, and is more closely related to the Don Issue 1. The traction features a mix of translucent and solid rubber in, what we are dubbing, a “Nutter Butter” pattern. For support the shoe is equipped with a TPU bar in the midfoot, making it slightly stiffer than the previous Don Issue model. As for the cushioning, unlike the two previous models that carried Bounce, the Don Issue 3 features Lightstrike.
The Utah Jazz continued they excellent play in 2022 with Mitchell at the helm. Mitchell has been averaging close to 26 points a game, 5 assists and 4 rebounds and churning out his usual highflying exploits.
We have see a fair amount of more simple, “team” style versions of the Don Issue. But the shoes synthetic upper allows for a very high degree of personalization, so we have also seen some very wild and unique designs of the shoe as well. Mitchell has played in a new “Spiderman: No Way Home” edition, a yellow Lego colorway and a paisley infused “Fresh Prince” colorway as well.
The adidas DON Issue 2 was a pleasant surprise on indoor courts, but it was a bit more inconsistent on the blacktop.
Traction and fit are very good. The Adidas Bounce cushion featured in the Don Issue 2 is good but not great.
The Don Issue 2 also features added mobility and range of motion received from the FYW (Feet you Wear) system. At its $100 price point, the DON Issue 2 is a very good bang for your buck option.
Spida’s 4th year with the Jazz was also his most Premium season up to that point. The Jazz finished as the top team in the NBA, and Donovan averaged close to 26 ppg, 4 rpg, and 5 apg. He was also named to that year’s all-star team, all while displaying his signature athleticism and vicious dunks.
The Don Issue 2’s synthetic construction might not feel premium, but it allows to keep the shoe affordable and gives adidas the ability to personalize the hell out of the sneaker. There is a myriad of different colorways and PEs of the Don Issue 2, including all of the Spiderman versions that Mitchell is known for. We also saw a bunch of cartoon-inspired PEs including the “Hey Arnold” and the “Woody” colorways.
Donovan Mitchell’s first signature shoe was a pretty great shoe. Traction was the only weak point in our opinion, but popular consensus seems to be that the traction worked well.
The Don Issue 1 performed particularly well outdoors. They’re fairly light, breathable, and have a lot of stability.
The shoe has a lot of great attributes along with a reasonable initial retail price.
Mitchell’s third season with the Jazz was a bit of a breakout. Spida’s individual numbers didn’t improve much from 2019, but he established himself as the Jazz’s go-to guy and a superstar around whom they could build around. He averaged a cool 24 / 4 / 4, he was named to the all-star team, he helped the Jazz clinch a playoff spot, ending 6th in the west, and, of course, he would get his own signature shoe.
Adidas made seamlessly integrated Mitchell’s nickname, Spida, in their marketing strategy for the Don Issue 1. We got a bunch of different Spiderman and Marvel Universe-inspired colorways. The Don Issue 1 was one of the flashiest on-court models of the season, and Mitchell got a bunch of PEs we sneaker fans could only admire from a distance.