Remember when Nike gave their three biggest basketball players outer space-themed shoes for the All-Star Game? I really hope so, because that was only like a month ago. But if not, it’s OK to forget about that because there is a new concept pack in town — it’s Nike’s Elite Series 2.0 and it’s superhero-themed because space is so last month.
The Elite Series 2.0 is a continuation of last year’s Elite Series (duh) which itself was a continuation of Nike hooking it’s premier players up with some special shoes for the postseason. (The Lakers better make the playoffs, otherwise, awwwwwk-ward.) All of the shoes are updated versions of the players’ signature shoes, with the main addition being new tech in the form of Kevlar aramid, articulated foam, and carbon fiber reinforcements to make the shoes light and strong. You know, like a superhero’s armor, only significantly less metal.
Style-wise, the colors are a bit strange. LeBron’s are in Knicks colors, Kevin Durant is wearing oversaturated Golden State Warriors blue and yellow and Kobe Bryant is in, gasp, Celtics green which is something we’ve seen before but still feels wrong. I’m sure the real ones they’re going to wear on court will be team appropriate, but for now this is all we’ve seen. Not that the shoes don’t look awesome — I particularly like the low-cut KD V, which reminds me of Roger Federer’s kicks in a very good way — but it is always odd when the first version you see of a shoe doesn’t match the player’s team. Though, to be fair, superheroes tend to match their armor and not their favorite sporting franchise. I mean, Spider-Man would never wear orange and blue shoes.
All three shoes release April 28 and I’m sure they’ll be more expensive than the standard versions of these shoes, what with all that fancy stuff added. No idea if the rest of the armor comes with the shoes, but if not, it’s probably pretty easy to make it yourself. After all, Tony Stark built an entire suit of armor AND arc reactor while trapped in a cave, so I’m sure you can handle a chest plate and some metal leggings.
Lots of pics after the jump. Let’s hear what you think in the comments.
