Devin Booker didn’t just step onto the court—he stepped into sneaker history. On Sunday, November 16, 2025, the Devin Booker, 28, Phoenix Suns shooting guard and native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, slipped into a one-of-a-kind Nike Book 1 "What The" White player-exclusive during warmups at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The shoes? All white. Every detail. Every texture. Every whisper of his two-year signature line, mashed into a single, mismatched pair. And no, you’re not getting them. Not unless you’re him.
What the White? A Sneaker Lover’s Dream—and Nightmare
The Nike Book 1 “What The White” isn’t just another PE. It’s a museum piece stitched into a basketball shoe. Snakeskin panels. Desert-hike tread patterns. Scorpion motifs. The iridescent collar from the original “Mirage” drop. All of it. But stripped to monochrome. No bold reds. No electric blues. Just white leather, white mesh, white stitching—each panel a callback to a past release, rearranged like a puzzle only Booker could solve.
“It’s like he took every chapter of his first signature shoe and bound them into a single volume,” said Sneaker Files’ senior analyst. “This isn’t a remix. It’s a eulogy.”
And here’s the twist: Booker switched to a Converse Chuck Taylor-inspired PE for the actual game against the Atlanta Hawks—black upper, white stitching, All-Star badges on the heels. The “What The White” was strictly a warmup flex. A quiet victory lap. A personal farewell before the curtain closes.
The Public Version: Loud, Limited, and Labeled 1996
While Booker keeps his white pair locked in his locker, Nike, Inc. is preparing to drop the official “What The” Book 1 on December 16, 2025. Just 1,996 pairs. A nod to Booker’s birth year. $170 retail. And yes—it’s going to look nothing like the one he wore.
According to Sneaker News, the public version “features far louder color blocking,” pulling from the “Hike,” “Rattlesnake,” and “Lilac Bloom” colorways with explosive contrasts. Where Booker’s PE was a whisper, Nike’s is a shout. A collector’s item. A time capsule. A final bow for a model that began with grainy 90s-style Sony Hi8 videos and a surprise reveal with Drake at the same Footprint Center in September 2024.
The Book 1 line, which launched officially on February 16, 2024 with the “Mirage” edition, has been a slow-burn love letter to Booker’s roots: desert landscapes, Arizona’s rugged terrain, his Michigan upbringing, even his love of vintage basketball aesthetics. It borrowed from the Air Force 1’s silhouette, the Blazer’s midsole, and the Air Jordan 1’s ankle support—all while carving its own identity.
A Line Built on Personality, Not Just Performance
Most signature shoes are about performance. Booker’s? It’s about storytelling.
“The ‘Haven’ wasn’t just a color—it was his sanctuary after his father’s passing,” noted Sole Retriever. “The ‘Rattlesnake’? That was the first time he wore his grandfather’s old boots to practice. The desert wasn’t just a backdrop—it was his memory.”
That’s why the “What The” concept works so well. It doesn’t just combine colors. It layers meaning. Each panel on the shoe tells a story: the snakeskin from his first pro contract, the hiking tread from his pre-draft training hikes in Sedona, the scorpion from a tattoo he got after his breakout 70-point game in 2022.
Even the “Lilac Bloom,” scheduled for July 18, 2025, was rumored to honor his mother’s garden in Grand Rapids. This isn’t marketing. This is memoir.
The End of an Era—And the Start of Book 2
With the “What The” release, Nike is officially closing the Book 1 chapter. The Nike Book 2 is slated for Spring 2026, and insiders say it’ll be a complete redesign—lighter, faster, with a new midsole tech rumored to be co-developed with a Silicon Valley biomechanics lab.
But before that, there’s the “The Valley” PE—a Phoenix Suns purple and orange version referencing their 2020–21 NBA Finals run against Milwaukee. Booker still wears it. It’s not for sale. Neither is the “All-Python” prototype spotted at the NY v. NY tournament. Or the “Beyond Pink” that surfaced in a locker room photo last month.
“He’s not just wearing sneakers,” said a longtime Suns equipment manager. “He’s curating a legacy. And he’s the only one who gets to keep the originals.”
What’s Next? Collectors Are Already Hunting
The December 16 release will sell out in under 12 minutes. Resale prices are already projected to hit $800–$1,200. But the real prize? The white PE. No one’s seen it on the court. No one’s photographed it beyond warmups. And according to Sneaker Bar Detroit, “it’s the kind of shoe that lives in Instagram posts, not shoeboxes.”
For now, it’s just a ghost. A silhouette. A whisper in a sea of noise. And maybe that’s exactly how Booker wants it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why won’t Nike release the white ‘What The’ Book 1 to the public?
Nike and Booker have confirmed the white PE is strictly player-exclusive, meaning it’s designed as a personal tribute, not a commercial product. Unlike the public “What The” version, which combines multiple colorways for mass appeal, the white edition is a curated collage of Booker’s private milestones—making it emotionally unique, not just visually distinct. Only a handful of such PEs ever leave the locker room.
How many Nike Book 1 colorways have been released so far?
As of November 2025, there have been at least eight official colorways: Mirage (Feb 16, 2024), Mirage 2.0 (Feb 29, 2024), Haven, Hike, Rattlesnake, Lilac Bloom (July 18, 2025), Court Purple, and Beyond Pink. Several others, including the All-Python and The Valley PE, remain unreleased to the public. The “What The” edition is the first to consolidate nearly all of them into a single release.
What makes the Nike Book 1 different from other NBA signature shoes?
Unlike most signature shoes that prioritize performance tech, the Book 1 leans heavily into narrative design. Each colorway references Booker’s life: desert hikes, family memories, cultural icons like Drake, and even his Michigan roots. The “What The” version turns that into a visual autobiography, making it more akin to a limited-edition art piece than a typical basketball shoe.
Will the Nike Book 2 be available in a “What The” version too?
No official plans exist for a “What The” Book 2. Nike has indicated the Book 2 will be a clean-slate design focused on next-gen performance, with a rumored lightweight foam midsole and adaptive lacing. The “What The” concept was tied specifically to Book 1’s legacy—its final chapter. Future models may have retrospectives, but not in the same layered, personal format.
How does the public “What The” Book 1 differ from Booker’s white PE?
The public version features bold, contrasting color blocking drawn from past releases like “Rattlesnake” and “Lilac Bloom,” while Booker’s PE is entirely monochrome—white on white, with all textures and patterns subtly embedded. The public shoe is loud and designed for resale; the white PE is quiet and deeply personal. One is for collectors. The other is for the man who lived every stitch.
Is there any chance the white PE will ever be released?
All credible sources, including Sole Retriever and Sneaker Bar Detroit, confirm there are no plans to release the white “What The” PE. Booker has worn similar exclusive PEs—like the Converse-inspired version—only for warmups, never for games or public sale. It’s likely to remain a private artifact, possibly displayed in a future museum exhibit or donated to a personal foundation.