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LaMelo Ball has joined forces with popular cartoon series “Rick and Morty” for its next Puma release.
After delivering the “Jade” colorway of his current signature shoe last week in celebration of Lunar New Year, the German sportswear brand has announced on its release calendar that a new “Rick and Morty” x Puma MB.02 collab is hitting stores soon.
Ball and Puma first collaborated with Rick and Morty last year when they delivered a mismatched iteration of the MB.01. The two entities are sticking to the theme with a new multicolored makeup. The left shoe wears a two-tone purple and green color scheme, while the right pair dons a pink and yellow makeup. Both shoes feature black stripe details at the midfoot, with Rick and Morty logos on the tongue and heel.
“The second signature shoe, with another cartoon-inspired colorway: the Puma x Rick and Morty MB.02. This version is just as disruptive as the first, just as bold, and just as Melo. It has a Nitro infused midsole that takes you high above the rim, a non-slip rubber outsole to help you cut to the basket, and a whole load of dimension-bending flair that makes you stand out even more on the court. It’s Melo in shoe form. And it’s still Not From Here,” Puma wrote about the collab.
As previously stated, Ball and Puma first collaborated with “Rick and Morty” in 2022 when they delivered a mismatched iteration of the MB.01. That set — which has since sold out, though pairs occasionally resale on platforms including StockX — featured one shoe in a deep pink monochrome palette and a citric lime green.
Ball’s second “Rick and Morty” shoe follows a string of releases for his MB.01 sneakers in various colorways, including black, beige digital camouflage, white and a tonal green, red and purple palette. In 2023, Ball also released the MB.02 in a “Be You” colorway, featuring complementary matte and metallic hues of pink, green, purple and yellow with leopard-printed outsoles. Similar to his “Rick and Morty” drops, the “Be You” style tongues featured mismatched hues, laces and upper paneling for a whimsical twist.
The shoe is available at Footlocker.com for $140.
Puma’s LaMelo Ball and “Rick and Morty” collaboration has been its latest shoe collaboration launch this year. In 2023, the athletic brand has also released numerous co-branded shoes, capsule lines and products with labels, including June Ambrose, Pleasures, “ThunderCats,” “SpongeBob” and Staple. Future launches this year will include co-designed sneakers with Ferrari and BMW, as well as new summer colorways of the brand’s popular Mayze, Clyde, RS-X and Suede Classic sneaker tyles.
