Free Fallin'

Check out some custom-kicks action from my fellow AM FAM boys Cris (Crisuno) & Chris (Battleground), as they give some Nike Free 5.0s...


...a little Amsterdam Air Max 1 treatment!




And this blue pair received the Stash 95 treatment...




Straight illy! Well done, Chris! I might have to send you some AM 90s to speckle my midsole...

The Big Fish

In tonight's 91-84 Laker victory in Boston in Game 3, it wasn't just Derek Fisher's heroics that highlighted the game, but also the unveiling of Kobe Bryant's road edition of his "Big Stage" Nike Air Zoom Kobe V...

You can see the explanations for the numbers on the upper via SC's diagram...

Much better than the boring home "Big Stages", IMO.

Game 3 hero Fisher wore the Del Sol AZK V, while Game 2 hero Ray Allen couldn't buy a shot in his AJ 16.5s...

...Shannon Brown wore the Playoff Pack AZK V...

...while Rajan Rondo continued to sport the best shoes of the Finals...his green/black Nike Hyperfuse...

(God, I love this shoe)

Lamar Odom had a productive night in another PE colorway of the Nike Hyperdunk...Pau Gasol wore his Laker "Away" Hyperizes...and Paul Pierce wore his "Nike 6.0-esque-looking" Nike Air Legacys that nobody wants...

Game 4 Thursday, as Kobe & Company tries to dribble past the Celtics yet again!

East vs. West

We've seen it all...."I Hate LA" or "Beat LA" tees...



...to the much simpler "F*ck the Celtics" tees...


As the Lakers and Celtics continue their rivalry on the court and their fans with the tee shirts, the sneaker shops in their respective cities have joined the battle with Converse All Stars as the "weapon" (pun intended) of choice.


LA's Undefeated (UNDFTD) Laker-inspired white Chuck Highs, along with some Laker-colored tee shirts...




But Boston-based Bodega countered with this release...


I have to hand this round to UNDFTD...

Creative Sole

The Nike 78 Project is one where footwear intersects with art. Nike sent creative artists worldwide a pair of Nike shoes and asked them to use sports as an inspiration to challenge their function. Its an ongoing project that will be unveiled at the London Design Festival 2010, but many pics and videos are available right now to check out.

Some are really creative (click to enlarge any of the pics)...


Some are really weird...


Some are weird and creative...


Some are really fun...


...and some are even more fun (Nike Air Max 93 x Nintendo Wii! Check out the cool video!)


Some ideas that kinda make sense...


My absolute favorite comes from Wieden & Kennedy Tokyo Lab -- the Nike Air Max 2003 Aquarium (aka Nike Air Ubuku)


Check out the Vimeo video spot on how they made this aquarium...

Slam Dunked

Kobe & Company took care of business last night, beating the Celtics 102-89 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. In the kicks world, the NBA Finals is like the Super Bowl; its the best time for the footwear brands to showcase upcoming products or reveal eye-catching/water-cooler player exclusives (PE's).

Here's what everyone wore...


Kobe Bryant wore his Nike Zoom Kobe V "Home" Finals Edition, also nicknamed "The Big Stage".


Designed by Erick Goto of Nike Basketball, this simple white & gold colorway features detailed printing on the upper that features statistics and details of his regular season, almost emulating a tattoo.

The shoe looks boring at first, but after seeing the attention to detail, it's quite a nice shoe. Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown were also wearing this colorway last night. More on this shoe can be found by my man Nick at SC.


Rajan Rondo wore a PE version of the upcoming Nike Hyperfuse and Rasheed Wallace wore a mind-blowing patent leather Nike Air Force 1 High. The Hyperfuse looks to be the next chapter of the "Hyper" basketball line, replacing the Hyperize & Hyperdunk. Sheed's AF1s, well....speak for themselves.


Jordan Brand endorsee Ray Allen wore the Jordan Icons team shoe in a patent leather black/kelly green colorway. I'm hoping he sports a nifty AJ retro, a AJ 2010 PE or at least one of the fall team shoes to mix it up.



Andrew Bynum (#17) in his nasty Proteges (thanks, Clarence). These are the same hunks-of-junks he wore in the regular season. These things are nasty...and not in a good way.


Ron Artest in his Peak PE's. I actually like these. Kinda reminisce of the LA Gear styles of Karl Malone back in the day.


Paul Pierce in his Nike Air Flop....er, I mean Nike Air Legacy.


Kevin Garnett in his adidas Super Natural Commander PEs. Garnett will wear adidas for the rest of the playoffs but will wear Chinese brand ANTA next season.


Not the best pic, but Lamar Odom's Hyperdunk was my favorite shoe last night. I hope that colorway drops...


Pau Gasol in a Laker colorway Nike Hyperize.


Luke Walton sports the Nike Air Zoom Kobe V GR in the "home" colorway.

Game 2 Sunday!!