We all know that Kevin Durant does not play around when he’s on the basketball court.
The same can be said when talking about his basketball shoe signature line. Apart from bringing some of the best performing and most comfortable sneakers each year, “the Slim Reaper” is now one of only two players to have as many as 15 editions of a signature model released in a row during his active playing career. The other one is, of course, LeBron James.
The idea
“I wanted a lower shoe, 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. I also wanted to have some more detail within the shoe. 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.” – this is what “Easy Money Sniper” had to say about the design process for the KD15 in which he actively participated.
Being a sneakerhead, KD also wanted to draw inspiration from iconic Nike sneakers. He did this last year with the KD14 by adding the strap that was inspired by Nike Air Presto – we wrote about it here:
This year, the strap is gone and new inspiration was found in the Nike Jet Flight model from 2001 that was actually worn by Steve Nash, the current coach of the Brooklyn Nets – the team KD plays for. The designers of the shoe further commented how their goal was to create a basketball shoe that supports versatile players and also provides maximum comfort.
The details
Zoom Strobel is one of the best performing Nike technologies in recent history, and it was “Durantula” who helped it reach such status with awesome results achieved ever since it first appeared in his KD12 model. This year, we can also talk about an upgrade to this as a full-length Cushlon midsole was added. Should this sound too technical, just keep in mind that these features will make your feet very happy that you chose to purchase this model 😀
As we mentioned, the strap which provided additional foot lockdown with last year’s model is now removed, but this aspect of the amazing KD15 basketball shoe is now reinforced by side TPU panels connected to the shoelaces thus allowing you to determine how tight of a fit you need.
Next, we have to talk about the traction which looks very promising and also very similar to what was used with the legendary Kobe 9s. The pattern of the thread is literally all over the place to provide excellent grip, but the threads are somewhat thin which means they may not be ideal for outdoor playing. They will perform well, but the wear and tear speed will be greatly increased.
Another thing we absolutely must point out is the materials that were mentioned earlier in KD’s quote, and we love the multi layered mesh for the fact it is lightweight and breathable. Speaking of breathability, the tongue of the shoe helps that aspect a lot since it has holes punctured in it.
The conclusion
Overall and as always, Kevin Durant and his Nike team of designers and technicians came up with such a great basketball shoe that will without a doubt be very popular among ballers in the NBA but also the entire world. If you have a chance, try it out in our stores in Budapest, Ljubljana and Zagreb while if you are buying the sneakers online get them in your regular size and keep in mind that KD models tend to be a bit more narrow. Finally, don’t forget to check out our entire KD offer
