The Converse SHAI 001 "Premium Ink" (style code A23978C-410) releases May 14, 2026 at $150, available at SNKRS, Converse.com, and select Foot Locker locations. The colorway lands in a deep indigo and dark navy palette inspired by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's hand-drawn sketches as Converse Basketball's Creative Director.
The Shoe
The "Premium Ink" upgrades the SHAI 001 build with natural leather throughout the upper while keeping the silhouette's signature element intact: a puffed, molded shroud with a functional zipper that conceals the lacing system underneath. Performance is anchored by a forefoot Nike Zoom Air unit and a radial traction pattern. The padded tongue carries Shai's signature logo in co-branded detailing.
The Creative Director Angle
Most signature shoes are designed with the player. The SHAI 001 was designed by the player. Gilgeous-Alexander's title at Converse Basketball is Creative Director, and the brand has been explicit that his sketches drive the design language across the line. "Premium Ink" reads as a direct extension of that — the indigo palette traces back to his sketchbook, the leather upper is the upgrade he asked for, the zippered shroud is the silhouette feature he wanted to keep.
This is a different posture than the way Nike, Jordan, or even adidas tend to structure athlete signatures. A player typically gets veto power, color input, and a few personal motifs. Shai got the keys. And for the reigning MVP runner-up and the top seed in the Western Conference, that's an unusual amount of brand authority for a player whose first signature line is only a year old.
The Court Test
Shai is wearing the SHAI 001 in the 2026 playoffs right now. The Thunder swept the Lakers in Round 1 and are deep into the Western Conference Semifinals. The "Premium Ink" colorway, with its near-black palette, is the kind of PE-adjacent execution that gets photographed on-court — and the playoffs are when sneaker sales for performance basketball lines tighten or expand around game-night reach.
The other context: SGA's style off the court has been one of the more-watched threads of the postseason. In the 2026 playoff tunnel, he's been working with Celine and Thom Browne without a professional stylist — fits that read precise without effort. That same instinct for restrained design shows up in the SHAI 001. The shoe doesn't try to shout. The shroud is the only loud feature; everything else is composition.
The Verdict
The "Premium Ink" is the version of the SHAI 001 that Converse Basketball clearly wants in market for the playoff run. It's the most photogenic colorway in the line so far, and the leather construction is the price-point story — $150 sits well below the Jordan Brand signature ceiling but right at the upper end of the Converse Basketball price band. If Oklahoma City keeps advancing, this is the colorway that gets pulled in front of the camera every other night for the next month. Converse closed out the SHAI 001 line this summer with the three-colorway Lace Up send-off — "Cheetah," "Lime," and "Berry" — ahead of Gilgeous-Alexander's move to a new Nike deal.
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