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Orlando Magic Big Man Jonathan Isaac releases his new signature sneaker, Juda 2, which will contain six Bible verses.
For Isaac, a free -speaking Christian with many conservative views, the goal of the shoe is not to be afraid to express your opinion. But suddenly, with the murder of Charlie Kirk, this goal means so much more.
“It’s about free expression,” Isaac told Pakinomist Digital in a recent conversation. “It’s about being a Christian guy, I think Jesus Christ is the Lord of the World and King and Lord and Savior in my life, and I will wear these shoes as a tribute to him. And anyone who will do the same join me.
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Jonathan Isaac said Charlie Kirk was a “respectable man.” (Imagn/getty)
“If you disagree with me, I have always tried my best with the attitudes I have taken to be graceful to it, and really try to care and understand the person who is on the other side of it. Maybe we agree to disagree, but I am never the type who is trying to impose myself.”
Isaac became a friend of Kirk over the years and appeared on his podcast and texted back and forth occasionally. Like many others, Isaac took the horrible news hard.
Charlie Kirk poses in Cambridge Union on May 19, 2025 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. (Nordin Catic/Getty Images to Cambridge Union)
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“It’s hard to put into words. … Really the only thing I can say is just talking to who Charlie was. Everyone wants to talk about what Charlie has said and his attitudes and similar things – Charlie had my respect,” Isaac said. “Not because I agreed to everything he had ever said or done. Some of the conversations we had even disagreed with things he said. But we always had civil discourse and he was always prepared to talk about why he thought what he thought. For me it is a respectable man.”
One of Kirk’s goals corresponded to Isaac with his new sneakers.
“Let’s build this thing as a brand to unite Christians, lovers of God, lovers of the country across the country, and give them a touch point to know each other, recognize each other, but also to have their faith right in front of them,” Isaac said of his sneaker, and why he places Bible verses on them. “
Judah 1 was “completely sold out” according to Isaac, so he would intensify his game this round.
Jonathan Isaac looks at Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter of the KIA Center on April 8, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)
“I was like ‘let’s take it to another level’ with regard to the design. I would move the verse from the back of the shoe to the front of the shoe …” he said. “Just those who speak to me and to the team. What would be encouraging as believers to be in a basketball game? What would you like to read? What would you like to hear?
“One of our shoes, Judah 2 Mighty Warrior, the verse is the angel who calls Gideon a mighty warrior when Gideon didn’t think of himself as a mighty warrior to begin with. So the little verse is, ‘I step on the court, I laced my shoes.’ And right there on the tongue I have a verse that says ‘I’m a mighty warrior.’ And it encourages you to go out and play your best.
