To commemorate Kevin Durant’s historic accomplishment as the youngest scoring champion in the history of the NBA, Nike is releasing the Nike Zoom KD Scoring Title Edition.
On Monday, June 28, a very limited number of pairs of the Zoom KD II Scoring Title Edition will be released at Niketown Chicago, as well as House of Hoops locations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Dallas. On the 28th KD will also be making an appearance in-store at the Chicago Niketown at 2:30 PM.
This shoe features Kevin’s point totals from the season on the collar lining, as well as a badge on the tongue that references his friends and teammates, The Broingtons, as well as Kevin’s “Pure Committment.” The sockliner includes another call-out to The Broingtons, a pennant that alludes to Kevin’s appearance in the NBA All-Star Game in February 2010, and two horses that represent his two H.O.R.S.E competition wins.
What’s going on everyone? I just arrived in New York City, my second time here in a month! I’m here for some more announcements and appearances that I’ll fill you in on later. But in the meantime I just wanted to catch you guys up on what’s been going on with me.
If you follow me on Twitter and Facebook then you probably saw that I had a good time on my tour through China with Nike Basketball. This was my second time in China but this year was different because both my dad and James Harden came along for the trip and they helped make it a lot of fun. We ran some camps with Nike, taught skills, met a lot of kids and just let everyone know how much hard work it takes to get to this level. It was all about interacting with the kids and letting them know that if they want to reach the NBA they have to work harder than the next person.
Aside from basketball my favorite part of the trip, hands-down, was our visit to the Great Wall of China. It’s more than just a wall, it’s a significant part of history that’s been there for thousands of years. Walking the Great Wall and knowing that not everyone gets this opportunity was such an experience. And it was a good, hard workout, too!
I also had a chance to hang out with some pretty chill panda bears. I swear, they were like humans. That was another highlight of mine.
After China I was back on the road to New York City to help Nike and USA Basketball announce the World Basketball Festival that will take place in Manhattan in mid August, and I’m proud that I was one of the guys who helped them with the announcement.
It’ll be a great chance to make sure fans know all about the World Championships. That’s a main goal, so the World Basketball Festival should be a blast. I can’t wait to play hoops outside in Times Square and I hope everyone else is, too. I know it’s not the Olympics, but hopefully people will get excited for us when we go over to Turkey. We’re all looking forward to that experience.
Also, I’ve been getting a lot of questions as to why I chose jersey No. 5. Well, I took the KG concept: there’s five guys on the floor so I want that number five to represent every guy on the floor. USA Basketball is a team thing. It’s not just me. It’s not just about the point guard or the small forward, it’s about everybody. It’s not about what I can do, it’s about how our team can operate together, so that’s why I picked it.
Well, that’s it for now. I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about what I’m doing in NYC this time around. And then comeback on Thursday, too, when I’ll give my thoughts on the NBA Finals and the NBA Draft that will be held later that evening.
Last week KD was in New York city to help Nike and USA Basketball announce the World Basketball Festival and also introduce the new Nike Hyperfuse shoe and Hyperelight uniform to the world.
The World Basketball Festival, August 12-15, features basketball’s leading brands within the NIKE Inc. portfolio — Converse, the Jordan Brand, and Nike Basketball.
The World Basketball Festival is a uniquely dynamic event, from the moment it tips off with a showcase featuring members of the 2010 USA Basketball National Team on an open-air court in Times Square, to an unprecedented Times Square performance by a surprise musical act, to the final games of the weekend between four of the best teams in the world at Madison Square Garden.
“The World Basketball Festival will be an unforgettable event for the people of New York City and basketball fans around the world,” said Charlie Denson, Nike Brand President. “Every two years we plan to connect the global world of basketball to celebrate the sport while leaving a lasting legacy within the community.â€Â
From Times Square on August 12, the action moves uptown to New York City’s legendary basketball courts at Rucker Park in Harlem, Friday and Saturday, August 13 and 14.
Rucker Park will be home to open-air practices and scrimmages by National Teams from Brazil and Puerto Rico, and training by France, mixed with performances by top international music acts, in addition to a grassroots youth tournament serving as the championships for some of New York’s top summer basketball leagues. Fans will also be invited to participate in clinics here designed to improve training and basketball skills. The two days at Rucker Park will culminate with a special celebration on Saturday, August 14. Details will be provided closer to the day.
The World Basketball Festival concludes Sunday, August 15 with an exciting exhibition double-header featuring the United States taking on France (1 p.m. EDT) and China meeting Puerto Rico (3:30 p.m. EDT) at famed Madison Square Garden.
The exhibition games are being utilized as part of the teams’ preparation for the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship in Turkey, August 28 to September 12.
While playing for Team USA KD will wear the new Nike Hyperfuse shoe.
The Hyperfuse is a super lightweight, highly breathable basketball shoe inspired by the street ball games in China. The composite is comprised of a superior stability layer, a breathable mesh layer and a durable outer skin layer all fused together into a unibody composite design. Hyperfuse also revolutionizes the way shoes are built by “fusing†its distinct layers into an engineered composite to provides a level of precision unattainable with traditional cut-and-sew construction. With Hyperfuse, additive overlays are eliminated and engineered zones of support are placed precisely where they are needed. The Hyperfuse’s seamless unibody design helps eliminate potential hotspots and wear points in footwear. And at roughly 12.5 ounces for a size 9, the shoe embodies superior lightweight performance. The design was inspired by Chinese basketball players and their need for shoes that are lightweight, can hold up outdoors, and have great traction/breathability.
Here’s video of Shane Kohatsu and Fred Dojan of Nike’s Innovative Kitchen breaking down the concept behind Hyperfuse
In addition to the Hyperfuse, KD and his Team USA teammates will be wearing Nike’s new Hyperelite uniform as part of their uniform. They are essentially the lightest, most durable uniforms Nike has ever produced. The jerseys have 13 inches less fabric than a typical basketball jersey and the shorts weigh less wet (10.1 oz.) than a normal pair does dry (13.6 oz.).
Here’s a look at KD and Yi Jianlian wearing the new Hyperelite uniforms:
What’s good everyone? I’m back in the States now, but I wanted to share video from the last leg of my China Tour with everyone. Check it out and let me know what you think. I’ll blog more about my trip to China when I get some free time.
Next week Kevin will head to China for a three city tour with Nike Basketball. He will be in Beijing from June 2nd – June 4th, Chengdu on June 5 and Shanghai from June 6th – 7th. We’ll make sure to keep Kevin’s fans outside of China updated on everything throughout the tour.
We all know that Kevin Durant is gaining tons of fans by the day with the spectacular breakout season he just completed. However, some fans were already diehards. Take Ben Brown, a big longhorn fan, that has watched every college and NBA game that KD has ever played in. He also is trying to pull off something spectacular by owning a pair of every single colorway of KD signature shoes and PE’s that has been released by Nike. Here’s his story:
When I was young I always wanted Air Jordans or any Nike shoes, but wasn’t able to afford them. I always admired the guys with huge collections of Jordans mainly the guys that had every pair released. Being a diehard Longhorn fan and living in Austin I’ve watched every college game and NBA game KD has played in. When KD came to Texas I was pretty sure when this guy got into the NBA he was getting a signature shoe. At that point to told myself that my goal was to get every shoe and colorway he released mainly because he is and always will be a Texas Longhorn. I don’t have them all but I will continue to look everywhere I can to add the missing ones to my collection. It does help that KD and Nike made these affordable for the regular guy to collect. Hook’em Horns
Good luck to Ben on collecting every single KD shoe and colorway. From the looks of his photo, it seems he’s already well on his way there. And remember, you can pick up a pair of the current Kevin Durant signature shoe, the Zoom KD II by clicking HERE.
Published by admin in Blog, News on April 15th, 2010 | 4
The latest colorway of the Nike Zoom KD II has hit Eastbay.com and other retailers. One fan named David Dinh has already picked up a pair of his own and sent in a photo and a message about the shoe.
Here’s what David had to say about the shoe:
“I luv your KD II’s. I had to grab this colorway as soon as it got released online. Great shoes and love how symbolic the shoes are to you. I’d do the same if I could create my own product line.”
If you’re interested in picking up the White, Black and Photo Blue colorway make sure you visit Eastbay.com today!
And if you already have a pair of KD II’s, make sure you send a photo of yourself holding the shoes to KD35Sightings [at] gmail.com and we’ll feature it in the KD II sightings section of the site.
What’s good y’all? Just wanted to let everyone know that I will be making an appearance at the Footlocker House of Hoops in Harlem this Friday. There’s going to be chances to win an autographed pair of my KD II’s and autographed basketballs. You might also be lucky enough to get smacked by me in a game of NBA Live on the XBox (Ask Deron Williams about that lol). Here’s the information on the event:
Date: Friday, February 19.
Time: After school.
Location: House of Hoops Harlem. 268 West 125th Street.
For more information on the event and a chance to get on the VIP guest list follow @nikebasketball on twitter.
What’s good everybody? Earlier in the year I blogged about my experiences playing in the Goodman League at Barry Farms. Nike Basketball’s “The Leap” followed me home to D.C. this summer to get a glimpse of me playing at Barry Farms. Check out the video and let me know what you think. I also debut the Velvet Hoop edition of my Zoom KD II in the video. So make sure to look out for that.
What’s good everyone? We’re in L.A. today getting ready to play the Lakers. It’s gonna be another tough one against a tough, tough team. Make sure you check us out tonight.
This summer I filmed some stuff for Nike Basketball’s “The Leap” series. Here’s part 1. Check it out and tell me what you think.
Recent Comments