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LeBron VI Officially Introduced in Beijing
LeBron James wore the ZL VI’s in a Team USA practice a few weeks ago (details and pics here and here), but no official announcement or press conference went down until now. The Olympic colorway with the reflective “United We Rise” pattern will apparently be making its first and only game appearance in the gold medal game (assuming Team USA gets there). Here’s a new close-up of these:
A full-size shot is available at this link. All pics and info from kenlu.net via NT’s bib10… A few press conference photos as well as a close-up shot of the very decent black / red / white colorway can be seen after the jump.
Kobe, LeBron Break Out New PE’s at Macau Exhibition
Unfortunately, the LeBron VI’s were not involved in this, but both Bryant and James wore new player exclusives during their exhibition against the Turkey National Team in Macau, China…
Kobe Bryant wore his “Black Mamba” PE of the Nike Hyperdunk… these have been talked about since early July (see more about these here), but this is the first time he wore them in competition. Additional game photos here and here.
(Photo by MN Chan/Getty Images)
Zoom Lebron VI Close-Up Pics
LeBron James’ debut of the Zoom LeBron VI at Monday’s practice generated a lot of hype on sneaker blogs and forums around the web, and fortunately for us, that typically results in some close-up shots. Pics below via hk-kicks.com:
As you can see from tongue embroidery on the second pic, it’s now official that these are the VI. The other notable features are the navy patent, clear soles, and reflective lasering of the “United We Rise” pattern. PE features aside, most people have either absolutely loved these or been disappointed by the simplicity of the upper (and the largest swoosh on a LeBron sig to date). My initial reaction is that these are a HUGE improvement over the ZL V, and while I like the return of a more old-school upper on a LeBron sig, I’m not quite sold on whether this has the potential to become an iconic shoe or not.
What do you guys think?
Zoom LeBron VI Debut
LeBron James has been sidelined lately with an injured right ankle, but he returned to Team USA practice this afternoon in Macau. However, the LeBron story that really had basketball fans buzzing today was this:
(Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images, REUTERS/Victor Fraile, AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
It’s been all but officially confirmed that these are the Nike Zoom LeBron VI (full size pics here, here, here, and here), a much different look from the previously leaked images. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of these this summer — the Soldier II Olympic PE is nice, but it’s rare to see a LeBron signature model hit the court this early in the year. Stay tuned…
Kevin Durant, Nike Unveil New Signature Shoe
Kevin Durant and Nike recently unveiled the Kevin Durant 1, KD’s first signature shoe, in Taiwan. They’ll feature Zoom Air cushioning and simple upper design (bordering on uninspired) with patent leather accents. While this black pair could probably use some white or yellow in the midsole, the white versions looks promising. Photos via kenlu.net… more pics after the jump.
Team USA Basketball Photos / New Melo M5 Hits Practice Court
With Team USA practicing in Las Vegas in preparation for the Olympics, a couple footwear stories have developed — the main one being the conspiracy theory over whether Coach K’s block of Dwight Howard’s adidas kicks in the above photo was intentional or not. Regardless, here’s the breakdown of what everyone’s been wearing, and photos of Melo’s new M5 model are also shown after the jump…
(Photo by Taryn Simon/Nike)
Welcome to PlayerExclusive.com!
Hello, and thanks for visiting PlayerExclusive.com. Before I get into the details about what this site is all about, let me just tell you what will be featured on here over the next few months. Later this year, PlayerExclusive.com will cover the PE’s worn in college football and basketball as well as in the NFL and NBA, but for now you’ll only be seeing the custom shoes worn in current sports. As you can see, the first item being covered are the PE footwear and new releases being worn at the MLB All-Star festivities, but the Olympics, NFL training camps, NBA offseason, and daily MLB play will also be covered over the course of this summer.
The idea behind this site is to basically have a photo-oriented version of Uni Watch for pro/collegiate sports footwear — instead of following uniform elements, we’ll be following unique custom footwear (and occasionally equipment elements) from major American sports. There are plenty of other footwear blogs out there, but they mostly cover retail sneakers. Here at PlayerExclusive.com, we’re only concerned the about what’s worn on the field or on the court. The posts made on this site will include game photos, close-up shots of custom footwear, and Photoshop renderings of PE’s.
Now, chances are that if you’ve found this site, you’re well-versed in footwear terminology, but for those of you who aren’t aware, a “player exclusive” (or PE) is special colorway of a shoe made for a specific athlete. They often use different materials and technical components than general release models, and they typically feature custom embroidery and other personalized elements to make the product unique to the player wearing it. PE’s will be the primary focus of this site, but news about new releases, brand signings, and other sports equipment will occasionally be mentioned as well.
This site is technically still being developed, so please just be patient for now. If you have any comments, suggestions, or if you’ve spotted something that you think should be featured on this site, please feel free to email me here (don’t worry–I won’t be sending you any spam). Just include your name and I’ll be sure to give you credit.
Thanks… and by the way, my name is Mark. I hope you’ll be visiting PlayerExclusive.com again soon!
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