Orlando Magic Star Jonathan Isaac Talks About His Faith-Centered Apparel Brand, Unitus

Orlando Magic power forward Jonathan Isaac turned a massive professional setback into a professional opportunity back in 2020 when the NBA was playing in the Bubble at Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex; a quick drive (if traffic isn't terrible) down I-4 from the Magic's home arena, the Kia Center.

"Back in 2020, I was signed to Nike and ended up tearing my ACL in the Bubble," Isaac told me over Zoom. "And fortunately, you know, you can't play basketball. It's hard to get a check from a shoe brand. And so Nike decided to drop me."

Frustrated, Isaac vented to his pastor and talked about his hopes of scoring a deal with one of Nike's competitors when he returned to action.

But his pastor had another idea.

READ: MAGIC'S JONATHAN ISAAC TAKES STRONG STAND AGAINST MEN IN WOMEN'S SPORTS: 'THIS IS WRONG'

"And he said to me, 'Why don't you make your own sneaker?'" Isaac recalled.

And with that, Isaac's faith-centered footwear and apparel brand, Unitus, was born.   The company's first offering, the Judah 1, is the first NBA signature sneaker with a visible Bible verse on it, which Isaac now wears on the court (though he mentioned that the Judah 2 is coming for this season).

From there, Unitus has released apparel, another lifestyle sneaker called the Fortra, and most recently, a line of athletic apparel, all of which includes a Bible verse printed somewhere on them.

One of the goals of the company is to foster a community focused on faith.

"What's great is that, in the Christian world, there already is a community, right?" Isaac said. "There's a huge community of believers, and this, for me, at least, is a way to create touchpoints between them. And so with the name ‘Unitus,’ it's all about being able to connect to each other and stay connected to Christ. 

"So, when I put on my Unitus t-shirt or my Unitus shoes or whatever, it gives me a touchpoint of focus on what's truly important. It reminds me of my faith, and then also, when I see somebody else wearing the merchandise or the sneakers, it gives me that touchpoint of community. And so we're obviously all connected through the Christian faith, but at the same time, it's dope to be connected through apparel and footwear and have that commonality."

Of course, part of making that apparel a touchpoint for people is coming up with products they'll want to wear, and that's a process Isaac said he has enjoyed and learned a lot from.

"Yeah, I absolutely love it," Isaac said of the design process. "And it's been weird, because it's like, you think one way is a consumer, but, being on the other side of it, which is now trying to get into the mind of the consumer, it's actually pretty difficult."

And speaking of designs, Isaac's Orlando Magic recently went through a significant redesign, something Isaac said was timed perfectly as the Magic continue on an upward trajectory.

"Man, I love it," Isaac said. "I think the time was right. I know that, especially with the pinstripes coming back, I know everybody's been (excited). If you took a survey, everyone would say that's the one thing they want to bring back as a pinstripe, so I'm excited about that. Can't wait to really get them on and, you know, try them on and take photos and everything like that. 

"But exciting; It's an exciting time," he continued. "With where we've been in the last two seasons, and ultimately, you know, our hopes for moving forward. It's a really exciting time to be an Orlando Magic fan. So [the rebrand] adds to it."

With the new-look Magic looking promising, and his Unitus brand continuing to grow and share its message with new consumers.

"So the dream is to be able to get into every sport you know, to have a foundation in basketball, with the sneakers, but ultimately get to football and baseball and, you know, there's Christians everywhere," Isaac said of Unitus' future. "And so to be able to touch every part of society when it comes to sports and athletics, and even everyday clothes as well. 

"So, that's where I see it going from a product standpoint, but then from a brand standpoint, it's just continuing to build that integrity and identity around truly being faithful to God's word," he added. "Truly being about the people and the community and connecting everybody and, you know, continuing to grow as disciples, but also make disciples as well."