Kobe IV Carpe Diem

Love this colourway. Love the name that it has taken. Can't wait to see how this low-cut performance shoe feels on the court. Due for release in January 09, this particular version of the IV will be a Footlocker exclusive.

Reebok Answer XII

Reebok got it right sendin AI the Answer XIIs for a huge game vs the Lakers. Iverson must have felt good in them handing the Lakers their first lost of the season. These are some nice ball shoes designed by Kohei Kanata.

That's a bad look.

Come on Adidas, send Chauncey some Creators in Denver colours.

"It's got that good traction."

Dang, this ad campaign is way more hilarious then I was expecting. Bron Bron's got some charisma. Check out the other "Six Tips" while you're at it.

Have you seen Melo lately?

Alright, Dwight's Shoes aren't THAAAT WACK.

Okay, so I've been hatin on Adidas' basketball footwear program for a while now. These recent photos of the TS Commander and TS Creator on the feet of NBA players are definitely doing their best to convince me otherwise... and I gotta say they're not doing a bad job. Those VOTE 08 editions on the feet of Garnett and McGrady are NICE.

Overall, the actual design of these 2 shoes is quite nice, I bet the concept drawings of them were amazing. I can't really comment on the performance, so instead I'll start complaining about some other things like putting Garnett's face on the shoe. Come on guys, that just looks plain tacky. No offense to Garnett of course.. his face is just fine... I just don't think anyone's photographic face should be on a shoe.. not even Jordan. 

And how about the marketing... Adidas seems to have 2 ad campaigns going right now: "Impossible is Nothing" and "Basketball is a Brotherhood". The first of course was the slogan that Garnett was mistakingly accused of blurting out after he and the Celtics won the championship last year. He didn't say "Impossible is Nothing", he said "Anything is Possible" which funny enough is Chinese Sneaker brand Li Ning's slogan. ANYWAY, what I want to talk about more is the "Basketball is a Brotherhood" campaign that promotes basketball as a team game rather than an individual/superstar type of game. Where in the world does Tracy McGrady fit in all of this? Yes, basketball is a team game, but people like superstars and the way the NBA game is played, superstars flourish. I think this campaign is best left for the college game. I do like the attempt in Adidas' part in designing only 2 shoes for all the superstars on their roster and eliminating all the previous individual lines.. it's interesting and it does work in a sense.. its like a team shoe.. and not only does it back up what they're preaching, it also saves on production costs.

Air Max 1 PHANTACi : The Grand

These Air Max 1s have been specially made for actor and singing star Jay Chou who owns a store in Taiwan called PHANTACi. The runners along with a SE leather jacket have been named "The Grand" pack getting its inspiration from a grand piano. Branding of Jay Chou's store includes a bright pink/magenta and has of course been implemented into this pack.

LeBron James - Chalk Commercial

Was that Lil Weezy in there?

Trainer Confidentials: I-Saw

Dremel Drill! Why didn't I think of that! Nice work.

And The Winner Is...

The Boston Celtics for getting their banner and their rings... AAND Ray Allen for having the craziest kicks on opening night.

Oklahoma City Thunder

It's still hard to believe that the Sonics are gone. As a matter of fact I completely forgot that they moved to Oklahoma. I didn't even know they were called the Thunder now. Here's Kevin Durant showing us the home and aways.

Hell Nah!

I can't believe he done stepped on my Js!

PEAK

When I first heard of PEAK, I wanted to have absolutely no preconceived notions of the brand.. you know give them a fair shot. I wanted to believe that a new performance basketball shoe brand could come outta China and come up with some innovative sh*t.  Welp.. so far, they've leaving me with a BRUTAL first impression. Check out these straight rip-offs that PEAK has not only gotten away with, but have also managed to put on NBA feet. 

The Wade 2.0 impostor is the funniest one to me. Shane Battier actually strapped those suckers on as his very own signature shoes. That's HILARIOUS. It's absolutely amazing to me that a company that is producing fakes essentially is making it. Aren't there laws that prevent this from happening? Absolutely shameless in my opinion... but maybe they're okay with that.. and obviously J-Kidd and Shane Battier don't have a problem with it either. In some ways its kinda like how an artist starts out.. by biting other more successful artists' steez or perhaps its like a music producer rippin an ol skool beat and making it their own. Look how successful Diddy is! Perhaps this is a way to make a starting point, I can't help but think its f*ckin WACK, but watch out I don't think PEAK is going away anytime soon.

Its Gotta Be

I'm gettin psyched up for the upcoming NBA season. I'm even more psyched up about all the shoes that will be on premiere NBA players' feet. Here's a pic of former VanCity Grizzly Mike Bibby in some AJ II lows in some pre-season action. It always amazes me when a player opts for an ol skool classic over today's ultra hi-tech ball shoes. I remember seeing a pic of Stephen Jackson in some Jordan Spizikes.. now you know those weren't made for hi performance! I mean, these are the highest caliber basketball players in the world playing in kicks designed in the 80s. I guess this confirms that shoes don't make you jump higher and that its the player not the shoes. NAAAAHHH!!! I'm still a BELIEVER!! IT'S GOTTA BE THE SHOES!

Black Cement On The Gridiron

This one's for Lester. Available next year sometime are these AJ III Black Cement cleats. The Baseball version is also supposed to be released around the same time.