Some sneakers walk into a room. This one stomps through the city. The Nike Ja 3 “Year of the Horse” (stylecode IB6508-200) is Ja Morant’s third signature sneaker, and the first pair in a long time to stir something on the Solezilla editorial team that looked suspiciously like pride. Because if Kaiju — our monster, our mascot in that red hoodie — had ever designed a sneaker himself, this would have been it. Not as a collaboration, not as a deal, but as a spiritual relative: a shoe that just happens to wear our house style to perfection.
The Two Scratches
Look at the side. Bright infrared-red triangles run across the dark brown, chestnut-colored knitted upper — scales, claw marks, call them what you like — pulling your eye from heel to toe in one fluid motion. And then it clicks. Those stripes read like the Solezilla logo itself: the double claw scratch, the two vivid slashes we leave everywhere. It’s as if the monster walked past the shop window, paused for a moment, and carved its signature into the leather with two claws. Nike added a gold swoosh; we mostly see those two red slashes. Coincidence? Probably. But heat recognizes heat.
Underneath it all is a bright red ZoomX outsole stamped with “ZOOMX” in gold — the cushioning Ja builds his entire game around, fast and low to the ground, exactly the kind of low-top you don’t walk in but hunt in. Black accents keep everything sharp. It’s a basketball shoe that looks like it’s up to something.
And Nike, this isn’t the first time
Because let’s be honest: we know those claws. It started back in August 2024, when the Nike Ja 1 “Reverse Scratch” (FV5957-100) first appeared with those slashes across the side. A year later came the Nike Ja 2 “Scratch” (NY vs NY, IB8235-300) — toxic green, a pink swoosh, black, and genuine claw marks running across the entire side, looking as though something had torn straight through it. And now, with the Ja 3, that motif has practically become a signature. Beautiful shoes, no question. Only, our claws had already been around for five years. We’ve been scratching that double slash across this site ever since the monster walked through the door — long before there was a swoosh next to it.
So, there you have it: a heartfelt thank-you for the homage, @nike. Three times in a row now — Ja 1, Ja 2, Ja 3. We feel seen. And we’re asking out loud — if you like borrowing our stripes this much, isn’t it time for a real collab? Kaiju supplies the claws, you supply the ZoomX. Call us.
That Little Tuft of Fur
And then there’s the detail everyone in the newsroom kept pointing out: the tuft of brown fur around the collar and heel. A nod to the horse — Year of the Horse — subtle, almost incidental, as if the shoe had grown a mane. It’s exactly the kind of weird, tactile idea that takes a sneaker from “nice” to “memorable.”
It reminded Kaiju of something from years ago. The fur-covered Reebok Instapump Fury from 2018 (stylecode BD4758-15) — a pair that almost everyone has forgotten by now, but one that made such an impression here at the office back then that it stuck with us. Not because of the specs or the hype, simply because of that one strange, hairy gesture you never saw coming. Some shoes disappear into the timeline; that furry Fury stayed somewhere in the back of our minds. The Ja 3 hits exactly the same nerve, and that’s a rare kind of compliment.
Right now, the Nike Ja 3 “Year of the Horse” is available from a select number of Dutch webshops, and prices vary as always. [sz_price_from stylecode=”IB6508-200″]. You won’t find that difference by closing the first tab you come across.
Why This One Sticks
The clever part is the balance. Maroon and infrared red aren’t easy neighbors — it could have turned muddy or overly loud — but the gold on the swoosh and outsole pulls everything together and gives the whole thing a regal feel. Warm, dark, with two vivid slashes cutting through it and a tuft of fur as a signature. This isn’t a shoe that begs for attention. It’s one that takes over the room and waits for you to notice.
To us, the Ja 3 feels like a pair that just happens to speak our language: monstrous, warm, slightly too much — exactly right. No deal, no collab, just a shoe that accidentally sounds like home. And that makes it feel almost personal.
Want it? Do yourself a favor and hunt smart: right now, the Nike Ja 3 “Year of the Horse” (IB6508-200) [sz_price_from stylecode=”IB6508-200″]. Compare prices, available sizes, and the webshops that have it in stock on Solezilla at a glance — then stomp into the city with the best deal under your feet, not regret.
Update — the fourth chapter: we stopped waiting. Nike borrowed our claws three times, so we designed our own dream. Check out the Nike × Solezilla Air Force 1 “Solezilla” — the concept we created ourselves. Cop or drop?