words // Nick DePaula: A new NBA season is just around the corner, meaning it is the best time of the entire year. As all thirty teams in the Association held their annual media day festivities this past Friday and Monday, as always, we were offered up our first look at players in their new sneakers for the upcoming season. Signature athletes LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant each rocked low-top editions of their lines in new and old silhouettes. We also saw the new Crazylight Boost and Crazy Explosive models from adidas on several players, while Nike’s new HyperShift and Hyperdunk models seemed to dominate the foot of their endorsers. Check out some of the best Kicks On Court worn around the league at this year’s Media Day, and let us know your favorites in the comments section below. Dwight Howard — Peak DH2 Kent Bazemore — Under Armour ClutchFit Drive 3 Low Jeremy Lin — adidas Crazylight Boost 2016 Low Al Horford — Nike Hyperdunk 2016
Isaiah Thomas — Nike HyperShift Marcus Smart — adidas DLillard 2 Jimmy Butler — Air Jordan Retro 7 “Miro” Chris Andersen — Nike Zoom Soldier X LeBron James — Nike Zoom LeBron III Low PE Mike Dunleavy Jr — Nike HyperShift Kevin Love — Nike Hyperdunk 2016 Kyrie Irving — Nike Kyrie 1 Coach Spo — Air Jordan Retro 6 Low Harrison Barnes — adidas Crazy Bounce Andrew Bogut — Nike Air Max Audacity 2016 Dirk Nowitzki — Nike Air Max Body U Deron Williams — Nike HyperRev 2016 Wesley Matthews — Nike Zoom Huarache 2K4 Andre Drummond — Air Jordan Retro 12 “Galaxy Custom” Draymond Green — Nike Zoom Clear Out Klay Thompson — Anta KT2 Kevin Durant — Nike KD 9 Stephen Curry — Under Armour Curry 3 Low Shaun Livingston — Nike Zoom Clear Out Kemba Walker — Air Jordan Retro 17+ Kemba Walker — Air Jordan XIX Nike Zoom Kobe IV “Draft Day” Roy Hibbert — Nike Zoom Soldier X
Nic Batum — adidas DLillard 2 James Harden — adidas Crazylight Boost 2016 Austin Rivers — adidas Crazylight Boost 2016 JJ Redick — adidas Crazylight Boost 2016 Jordan Clarkson — Nike Kobe 11 D’Angelo Russell — Nike Kobe 11 Julius Randle — Nike Kobe 11 Luol Deng — Nike Kyrie 1 Nick “Swaggy P” Young — adidas Crazy 8 Thomas Robinson — Nike KD 9 Marc Gasol — Nike Hyperdunk 2016 Tony Allen — adidas DRose 7 Derrick Williams — Nike Kobe 11 Hassan Whiteside — Nike Air Max Audacity 2016 Mike Conley Jr — Air Jordan XXX1 Andrew Wiggins — adidas Crazy Explosive Zach LaVine — Nike Air Garnett III Courtney Lee — Nike Hyperdunk 2016 Derrick Rose — adidas DRose 7 Brandon Jennings (sneaker free agent) — Nike Zoom HyperRev 2016 Monta Ellis — Jordan Super.Fly 4 Kristaps Porzingis — Nike Kobe X Elite Kosta Koufos — Nike Zoom Soldier 10 Willie Cauley-Stein — Air Jordan Retro 11
Giannis Antetokuompo — Nike Kobe X Low Coach Jason Kidd — Air Jordan Retro 4 “Green Glow” Jabari Parker — Air Jordan Retro 11 PE Michael Carter-Williams – Nike Kobe 11 Steven Adams — adidas Crazy Explosive Cameron Payne — Nike Air Foamposite One Ben Simmons — Nike Air Max Audacity 2016 Dario Saric — Nike Kyrie 1 Joel Embiid — adidas Crazy Bounce Nerlens Noel — Nike LeBron 13 Elite Timothe Luwawu — Nike Hyperdunk 2016 Eric Bledsoe — Nike Zoom Soldier 9 PJ Tucker — Air Jordan Retro 3 CJ McCollum — Nike Hyperdunk 2016 Damian Lillard — adidas DLillard 2 Moe Harkless — Nike Kobe 11 Noah Vonleh — Air Jordan Retro 14 DeMarcus Cousins — Nike HyperShift Rodney Hood — Nike Kyrie 2 Brad Beal — Nike Hyperdunk 2016 Casper Ware — Air Jordan Retro 11 Low John Wall — Nike Hyperdunk 2016 Johnny O’Bryant — Nike Air More Uptempo Sheldon McCellan — Air Jordan Retro 11 Low
Russell Westbrook — Air Jordan XXX1 PE One Retailer is Restocking These adidas NMD R1 Primeknit Colorways Today Nike Lunar Force 1 Duckboot “Team Red” Input your search keywords and press Enter.Avid Snapchatter Lance Stephenson (born_ready23), who signed a one-year, $1.22 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, showed off his shoe collection on Friday. It looks pretty insane. The sneakers are all arranged wall-to-wall on the floors of two rooms, and in a closet. Lance Stephenson kinda has a lot of shoes. At least two separate rooms with the floors covered. Maybe should get shelves though. — Alysha Tsuji (@AlyshaTsuji) October 21, 2016 The shoe Snapchat Story ends with a note from Stephenson that says, “I make sure everything lit.” Players in the past have shared what their collections look like too. J.R. Smith, Ray Allen and Dwyane Wade have theirs stacked on shelves. Walked on my shoe closet today an got overwhelmed.
From a kid who window shopped the malls of NJ wishing I could get them to a 12 year vet having almost every shoe! A post shared by JR Smith (@teamswish) on Apr 10, 2016 at 8:04am PDT — Ajani (@Boothman23) May 29, 2015Link to an eBay page Link to an eBay page 1. Jordan Brand XX9 We have to start with the most important basketball shoe ever made, now almost 30 years old. At this year's All-Star Game, Jordan Brand introduced four separate shoes (you’ll find two others below), but the slickest and most iconic were these Jordan XX9s worn by Russell Westbrook. With #23 on the sole and the Jumpman logo across the Achilles, these shoes continue to celebrate the originator of signature sneaker style. Perhaps the most out-there color combination of all the shoes on this list, Stephen Curry’s first signature shoes from Under Armour, the Curry One Dark Matter, are all kinds of flashy. Curry was this year’s leading vote-getter and three-point champion, so these are no doubt the first in a long line of shoes devoted to his exploits on the hardwood.
The closest thing the modern NBA has to Jordan, Lebron’s had his own shoes for a dozen years. Lebron 12s continue the pattern of high tops with functional style, with the pictured design made specifically for this year's All-Star game. As with each year’s entry, these are ideally suited for large men to move quickly and jump high. KD7 All-Star Edition hit the market just as Durant is rounding into the best health he’s had all season. This signature shoe features a completely different look than any of the other Nike shoes, more vibrant and multicolored, while at the same time highlighting Nike’s Hyperposite shell technology. It’s got Zoom Air, too! Kobe's shoes are always a sight to behold. Though the fan favorite didn’t appear in this year’s game due to injury, he’s on his tenth shoe for Nike, and recent injuries haven't slowed his design ambitions! Check the iconic Nike air bubble in the shiny heel section of the Kobe Xs that deftly compliments the lightweight black body of the shoes.
Damian Lillard almost didn’t make this year’s game, which would have been a real shame. He made it at the last second as an injury replacement, and his signature D-Lillard 1 kicks got the proper introduction. This is a handsome first offering any player would be proud to call his own, not least of all because of that "Dame" logo on the alternating tongue and heel. Lebron’s super-popular Cleveland teammate also gets his first shoe at this year’s All-Star Game. Considering his individual achievements thus far, it was only a matter of time before Irving got a Nike design to call his own. A bit of a throwback with that prominent front bumper, these Kyrie Irving 1s lose the air bubble for a more cohesive look. This season has been a coming-out party for John Wall, the one-time #1 overall pick who’s guided Washington to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. John Wall 1 shoes were designed to celebrate his new pre-eminence, as they prominently show off Wall’s name and logo and are available in a wide variety of bright color combinations and woven styles.
Carmelo Anthony has the current distinction of the longest-running non-MJ signature shoe in the Jordan Brand stable. Melo M11 kicks jump off from the XX9’s look and incorporate ‘Melo’s own stylistic ideas, in particular holes in the tongue, perforations along the side, and that molded collar across the back and heel. The first thing you’ll notice on these Jordan Brand shoes is the lower tops. They are like that because theseVIIIs are designed for the quick, agile movements of their namesake. Seen last night in the similar pearl color scheme to the Melo’s and the XX9’s, this is a lower-profile signature look than perhaps any other on this list. Last but not least, the biggest get of the weekend! Kanye West designed these Adidas Yeezy 750 Boost sneakers and debuted them at his runway show for New York Fashion Week. Adidas plans to only sell 9,000 pairs of these worldwide, and it’s not hard to imagine why. A rare find for the true collectors out there!