Action Bronson Shows Off New Balance 2811 Baklava Collab Courtside
Action Bronson posed courtside with Martin Lawrence at Crypto.com Arena wearing an unreleased New Balance with "2811" on the tongue and his Baklava signature.
Before the Lakers and Knicks even tipped off at Crypto.com Arena this past weekend, Action Bronson had already won the night. The Queens rapper and longtime New Balance collaborator posed for photos with comedy legend Martin Lawrence while rocking an unreleased sneaker bearing his signature Baklava branding and "2811" text across the tongue — a detail that has set sneaker outlets buzzing about whether New Balance just let an entirely new silhouette slip into the wild.
Neither New Balance nor Bronson has officially confirmed anything about the shoe. What the courtside photos, credited to NBA and Bronson's own Instagram handle @bambambaklava, do show clearly is a black mesh base layered with synthetic support panels, including what Sole Retriever's Zach Harris described as "a pointy sort of 'M' shape on the toebox." Thin TPU paneling runs throughout the upper, and small orange New Balance "N" logos sit on the quarter panel in a placement that Sneakerbardetroit's Mario Briguglio noted resembles the branding architecture of the New Balance 1000. The LA pair presents in a darker palette: black mesh, steely grey panels, and those orange accents cutting through.
The midsole is where the identification debate gets thorny. The heel tooling carries visible ABZORB SBS cushioning pods consistent with the New Balance 2010, yet the upper reads as a noticeably different construction. The tongue tag reading "2811" is the key piece of evidence pushing most outlets toward the new-silhouette interpretation, though JustFreshKicks notes the shoe "is either a very customized version of the 2010, or a brand new model, possibly called the 2811." Sneaker Freaker, writing on March 10, 2026, put it plainly: the tongue branding "strongly suggests the model could be called the 'New Balance 2811,' potentially marking the next expansion of Bronson's ever-growing 'Baklava' footwear universe."
The Lakers were without LeBron James for the home game, which Luka and the shorthanded squad won, but the real preview came before tip-off. This was also not the first courtside appearance for the silhouette. Sole Retriever confirmed that Bronson wore an earlier iteration of the same shoe at Madison Square Garden last month, that pair built on a black mesh base with blue support panels and an orange "N" — a clear nod to Knicks colors. The LA version traded those blues for grey, and for the first time made the Baklava 2811 tongue tag legible in photographs.
Bronson's partnership with New Balance dates back to 2023 and has worked across a wide range of silhouettes. Early projects centered on the 990v6 and Minimus Trail before the 1906R arrived in 2024. Most recently, just last month, Bronson helped introduce the brand-new 1890 model through two Baklava-edition colorways. The 2811 sighting suggests the collaboration is already moving to its next chapter.
No release date, retail price, or confirmed distribution has been announced. JustFreshKicks speculated that, given Bronson's habit of wearing samples well ahead of drops, the 2811 may not reach shelves until late 2026. Sneaker Freaker noted that in-hand social previews from Bronson on Instagram are likely the next signal worth watching, based on how previous Baklava drops have been teased. Until New Balance or Bronson's camp makes anything official, the courtside appearance stands as the only confirmation that something new is coming — and that Bronson already had it on his feet at tip-off.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
