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Two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant's latest signature sneaker from his partnership with Nike has officially been unveiled. 'Nike KD 15' is Durant's 15th sneaker series, making him a part of an exclusive club of two players with 15 sneaker models while active.
To create his signature shoes, KD sits with the designers and outlines the direction and outlook to be expected, while also considering the user experience. Being a part of the design process for all his signature shoes, Kevin Durant talks about the thought process that went into creating the 'Nike KD 15'.
While his last few shoes were high tops, Durant resorted to going low with the KD 15, making reference to KD 6, 4 and 3. Given Durantula's height of 7 feet, he said he wanted to feel like he was 'lower to the ground' with the KD 15.
“I wanted a lower shoe,” KD said. “I wanted to go back to that style I had with the 6, the 4, and the 3. I wanted to feel like I was lower to the ground. The last few shoes were high tops, and I wanted to just change it up,” he said.
Going low required the Brooklyn Nets forward to get inspiration from the classic Flight models of the 90s and 2000s, worn by former Milwaukee Bucks guard Luke Ridnour and the Nets coach Steve Nash. Being one of the shoes he saw and admired as a teenager growing up, it was imperative for him to try to recreate such a feel with KD 15.
“I know you remember the low top joints that Luke Ridnour and Steve Nash used to wear, the Jet Flights,” Durant stated. “That was one of the first shoes that I [saw] as a basketball player coming up that was super low and looked almost like a trainer. That was interesting to me and I wanted to bring that feel back.”
Though it looks like a walk-around shoe, Kevin Durant says the 'Nike KD 15' plays like a basketball shoe
Questions could likely arise on whether the Nike KD 15 is indeed fitting for a game on a basketball court. Kevin Durant has shed some light on that, stating that while the shoe looks like a normal walking shoe, it's fitting for a game on the court like any basketball shoe.
“I also wanted to have some more detail within the shoe,” Durant retorted. “Even though we went low, I didn’t want it to be too basic. We have different layers and different textures from the front to the back of the shoe. It looks like a walk-around shoe, but it plays like a basketball shoe.”
Despite his desire to make KD 15 low, he had no intention of having it look basic and as such, he explains the different layers and textures embodied in the shoe from front to back. Nike Basketball Footwear Technical Developer Kreig Hozalski, pointed out the need for some intricacies to be met surrounding KD 15 if it is to be worn by the future Hall of Famer.
“Kevin is really versatile as a player, so you really have to try and check off all of the boxes when it comes to a performance basketball shoe for him,” Hozalski said.
Guess the Lakers players!
