Issue

Nice Kicks! Ridiculous NBA Shoes

When I played basketball in high school, I had a pair of Tim Duncan shoes. They were black with a little bit of ventilation on the sides, which was wonderful when there was a breeze and horrible if I stepped into a puddle.

A season later, our coaches bought us all shoes so we could match. It led to a terrible record where we only won four games the entire year. Those shoes were also all black.

As the two examples above illustrate, I’ve never really worn crazy wild shoes on a basketball court. Perhaps that’s my loss.

Luckily, we’ve got plenty of NBA players picking up the wacky sneaker-wearing slack.

Kyrie Irving’s SpongeBob Shoes

Kyrie Irving and Nike have had a long and fruitful relationship.

Specifically, that fruit is a pineapple. And its main resident is someone who lives in said pineapple, possibly under the sea.

Kyrie’s collection of SpongeBob sneakers is colorful and plentiful. The gang’s all here, so pick your favorite and slide ’em on. Slide in ’em? I don’t know what’s correct.

Either way, you’ll be saying “I’m ready!” all day long.

Royce O’Neale Says, “Come On and Slam, and Welcome to the Jam”

Utah’s Royce O’Neale is not in either Space Jam or Space Jam 2, but he’s clearly a fan of the two films.

These are Kobe Bryant Nike Kobe AD shoes that feature the “cast” of the jams.

I really appreciate that both the Tune Squad and Monstars are featured here, one on each shoe. Equality is important.

Kobe Bryant’s Shoe That Kind of Looks Like an Alien Spaceship

Speaking of Kobe Bryant, the late star had a long line of shoes with Adidas, and most of them were decent-enough designs that looked good and functioned well.

This one…not. so much.

The Kobe 2 looked like it might fly off to Roswell at any minute, and it certainly didn’t stay on Kobe’s feet. He went back to the Kobe 1 and continued dominating the league.

In fact, these sneakers were so unpleasant, they probably caused Bryant to eventually leave Adidas for Nike.

Langston Galloway’s Minnie Mouse Moves

Pink shoes are a move I cannot pull off, but I think Langston Galloway does a good job with these Minnie Mouse sneakers.

He explained they were a nod to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which makes the decision even cooler.

Now we just need someone to rock a Mickey Mouse shoe. Or maybe Minnie ears.

Who Do You Think Wore This Shoe?

If you think about the most bizarre players in NBA history, who comes to mind?

If you guessed Ron Artest/Metta World Peace, you are correct.

As far as I know, this is the only shoe that has ever featured a panda head on top of it. It’s called “Panda’s Friend,” and I’m not sure how well it would hold up over the course of a game, but it does look pretty cute.

joey