Basketball Sneakers
InsideHoops.com | Hoops Sneakers
Basketball sneakers are an institution. They have to feel good, and look great! InsideHoops.com's basketball sneaker page has news, info, basketball sneaker recommendations, kick event news and everything worth knowing when it comes to hoops sneakers. Recommendations from us come direct from InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner, whose main shoe size seems to be 11.5 Wide, though for super-roomy sneakers he goes as low as an 11, and for tight cuts around the toes and sides it's a 12, maybe even slightly bigger. Depends entirely on the specific basketball sneaker model.
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BASKETBALL SNEAKER NEWS AND PICTURES
Updated every few hours, every day.
Post reviews of your basketball sneakers on the InsideHoops sneaker forum.
Post reviews of your basketball sneakers on the InsideHoops sneaker forum.
BASKETBALL SNEAKERS: OLDER STUFF
Below is our old basketball sneakers stuff. Most of it will get deleted, as it's outdated and not particularly organized. As of December 3, 2007 this page will updated regularly. We'll have sneaker release dates, reviews of shoes we've put on and gotten a feel for, plugs of cool stuff we see, etc.
So, feel free to skim the stuff below, though we're telling you, it's just jumbled info. The legit, new, organized stuff is coming up top.
OLD PAGE INTRO
This is just our basketball sneakers news page, more business-related than dealing with the realness of putting basketball sneakers on your feet. We'll soon have a complete basketball sneakers section with hot pictures, release news, reviews and much more, starting in late February, 2007. We're still deciding exactly how we want to organize our shoe coverage.
BASKETBALL SNEAKERS NEWS
July 25, 2007: It's been a tough year for the basketball-shoe business. Domestic television ratings for the NBA Finals have reached record lows. According to Business Week, sales of basketball sneakers fell 16 percent in 2006, and retail outlets like Foot Locker are seeing big declines in foot traffic. But all is not lost for the sneaker-industrial complex. Nike projects that China, a source of much of the company's recent growth, will soon represent its second-largest market. Last year, Adidas announced plans to double its number of retail stores in China to 5,000 in the next four years. Slate.com
With the world's sneaker giants fixated on conquering East Asia, you'd think China's domestic shoe producers might be feeling the pinch. But remarkably, local manufacturers have more than held their own. Even as Nike and Adidas have become the two largest sports brands in China, they still account for no more than a third of the sports-shoe market. Li Ning, which first found success in the 1990s through the popularity of its namesake founder, an Olympic champion gymnast, now earns $400 million a year in revenues. Anta, another leading local brand, saw its sales increase by 87 percent last year. Slate.com
In a few cases, the sponsorship choices are downright brilliant. Take Li Ning's deals with the Spanish and Argentinean basketball teams, which won the 2006 World Championships and the 2004 Olympic gold medal, respectively, amid the wreckage of USA Basketball. Li Ning won't make its fortune in Buenos Aires or Barcelona. But sponsoring a championship team in a marquee sport sends a powerful signal to Chinese consumers that the brand is legit. Slate.com
April 11, 2007: "This was the first meeting with Bulls center Ben Wallace since he hooked up with Marbury to endorse his Starbury collection discount sneakers. Big Ben will have his own line of sneakers but it will be under the "Starbury" name." New York Post
New for Feb, 2007: Basketball sneaker documentaries
Buy cool basketball shoes online in the InsideHoops basketball shoes section.
Talk shoes on the new InsideHoops Sneakers Forum
Top Basketball Sneaker News
Feb. 20, 2006: The Indianapolis Star reports: Chuck Taylor is one of the most famous names in sports that no one knows: It's on the label of the legendary Converse All-Star basketball shoe. Now you can find out all about the Hoosier native who is associated with the double-wall canvas-body shoe with a circular ankle patch, in "Chuck Taylor, All Star: The True Story of the Man Behind the Most Famous Athletic Shoe in History" (Indiana University Press, 200 pages, $21.95), by Carmel author and Indianapolis Star reporter Abraham Aamidor. This first-ever biography of Taylor finds he was involved with 1920s "industrial league" basketball in Indiana, worked as a wartime coach with the Army Air Forces and organized basketball clinics. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Feb. 16, 2006: Bloomberg reports: Nike Inc., the world's biggest maker of athletic shoes, accused rival Adidas-Salomon AG of infringing its patented method for cushioning soles and using it in its running, basketball and tennis footwear lines. Nike filed a lawsuit in federal court in Lufkin, Texas, saying Adidas infringed Nike's ``Shox'' cushioning technology, which is protected by 19 patents and took 16 years to develop, Nike said in a statement. Nike said Adidas' $250 Adidas 1 running shoe, the German company's most expensive men's shoe, and its $150 Kevin Garnett basketball shoes have cushioning systems that infringe the patents. Adidas, which purchased Reebok International Ltd. last month for $3.8 billion to better compete with Nike, has 28 percent of the $18 billion global athletic-shoe market. Nike has 31 percent.
Feb. 16, 2006: Bloomberg continued: Nike began offering the Shox cushioning system in 2000 and received patents for it in 2002, said Vada Manager, a spokesman for Nike, in an interview. The cushioning is used across several lines of athletic shoes, including running, basketball, tennis and cross-training footwear, he said.
Feb. 16, 2006: The Oregonian reports: Adidas has been selling shoes with a3 cushioning technology since 2002. Its Adidas 1 shoes, which rely on a computer chip to automatically adjust the cushioning for the terrain, have been for sale for nearly a year. Nike said it did not file a complaint earlier because it has been reviewing Adidas' sneakers extensively and examining whether it had a claim. Ultimately, "it was pretty clear to us we had something here that we need to defend," Manager said. The suit is one of several that Nike has filed in recent months against companies for alleged infringement on patents covering its Air Max sneakers, golf clubs and other products.
Jan. 28, 2006: InsideHoops.com's editor passed two big shoe stores in Times Square around 11 p.m. ET Friday night -- one FootLocker and a Foot Action, and there were giant lines outside both of them. Two new Jordan retros are coming out together, apparently for $300. A Foot Action employee speaking to InsideHoops.com said that there was limited distribution of the shoes around the country. They only had 70 pairs. And they're a huge store. Anyway, the stores don't open until the morning, and the Foot Action employee told InsideHoops.com that the line outside began forming around 1 p.m. that afternoon. So, the guys at the front are waiting about 19 hours in 30 degree weather to make sure they get their hands on the Jordans.
Jan. 21, 2006: "Nike Inc. will begin selling a $160 running shoe today that, for the first time, incorporates a heel-to-toe air-filled cushion that offers more comfort and durability. In May, Adidas will counter with a $250 basketball shoe packing a motor with "153% more torque" and lights that blink when the heels are ready to run, jump or dunk. The world's dominant athletic shoe and apparel companies are betting that buzz generated by their costly shoes will provide an updraft for the rest of their athletic gear. But the high-tech sneaker war prompts the question, what's next?" Los Angeles Times
Jan. 21, 2006: "Like previous models, the high-end shoes will appeal mainly to hard-core athletes and trend-conscious consumers. Shoes that retail for more than $100 accounted for just $611 million of the $8 billion that Americans spent on running and basketball footwear during 2005, according to NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y., market research company. Marshal Cohen, the company's chief industry analyst, says that only 24% of running shoes sold are worn by runners and that just 34% of consumers who buy basketball shoes step onto a court." Los Angeles Times
Jan. 21, 2006: "Finish Line is inviting consumers to tread on oversize air bags stationed in its stores to get a feel for Nike's most expensive running shoe, the Air Max 360. Nike commercials will feature tennis player Maria Sharapova, baseball star Alex Rodriguez and quarterback Tom Brady to extol the virtues of running on air." Los Angeles Times
Jan. 21, 2006: "Adidas-Salomon of Germany added a window last year to display its first "intelligent" shoe so that consumers could see the equipment in the sole, said Stephen Pierpoint, the project manager for the adidas_1 shoe." Los Angeles Times
Jan. 21, 2006: "Nike and Adidas have picked a relatively good time in the industry's economic cycle to introduce their new shoes. Sales of basketball and running shoes that cost $100 or more tumbled by 19.4% during 2004 but soared by 46.4% last year." Los Angeles Times
Jan. 12, 2006: "Kobe Bryant met Tuesday with Nike representatives in nearby Beaverton, Ore., a month before a TV commercial featuring Bryant debuts during the All-Star break. Bryant, whose appearance in a two-page Nike ad in Sports Illustrated in July marked his reemergence as a celebrity endorser on the national stage, will be marketing his first Nike signature shoe, the Zoom Kobe I." Los Angeles Times
Jan. 12, 2006: "Jerry Solomon and Epoch Films had a tight schedule on the set of LeBron James' widely popular "The LeBron's" commercials for Nike. Solomon had three days to shoot five commercials, and not one second more. To the average person, that sounds like a lot of time. But Hollywood veterans know better - especially when it comes to working with prominent professional athletes." Los Angeles Daily News
Jan. 12, 2006: "LeBron was above and beyond what any of us could hope for," said Solomon, the executive producer of The LeBron's. "He showed up ready to work. He was professional. He knew his lines. In short, he was a pleasure to work with." This was no ordinary shoot. James played four different characters: Athletic LeBron, Kid LeBron, Wise LeBron and Business LeBron, with the parts ranging in age from 60 to a toddler. Picture Eddie Murphy's "The Nutty Professor" meeting Martin Lawrence's "Big Momma's House." Los Angeles Daily News
Jan. 10, 2006: "Chinese leading sportswear brand Li Ning signed a two-year contract with Cleveland Cavaliers' guard Damon Jones of the National Basketball Association, the company announced here on Tuesday. Li Ning becomes the first Chinese sportswear company to sign a current American player of the NBA. China's brand Athletics signed former Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers legend Clyder Drexler in 2005. The agreement was inked on Monday at Cleveland, Ohio. Details are not disclosed." Xinhuanet
Jan. 10, 2006: "(Damon) Jones has worn the "Feijia" sneakers provided by the Li Ning Sports Good Company this season. "The Li-Ning products, with oriental culture, make me unusual in the NBA court," Jones said through teleconference from Cleveland when the company held a news conference in Beijing. "They're an awesome company, and they've been great so far," Jones said to Cleveland local newspaper before the signing of the contract." Xinhuanet
Jan. 9, 2006: Li-Ning sneakers / Li-Ning basketball sneakers -- Li-Ning Sports Goods announced today the signing of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball
star Damon Jones to an endorsement contract. With the signing, Jones becomes the first American NBA player to endorse and wear Chinese branded shoes and
apparel. The unique partnership is a milestone for the global development of Li-Ning sporting goods and enables Li-Ning to be recognized around the world
as a top tier professional sports equipment company.
"Li-Ning is a company focused on performance with strong capacities for marketing, research and development," Damon Jones said. "Wearing Asian-styled,
Li-Ning products makes me different from others on the court and I am honored to be the first to wear the Li-Ning brand in NBA games."
Jones first wore Li-Ning's "Fei Jia" basketball shoes in a game on November 18, 2005 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Watch for the Li-Ning basketball shoes in Cavaliers games.
Jan. 7, 2006: InsideHoops.com reports that a player on the Cleveland Cavaliers who has not yet been named will become the the first American NBA player to sign with Li-Ning Sports Goods, an internationally-known, Chinese athletic shoe and apparel company. In January 2005, the NBA signed the agreement with Li-Ning allowing its players to wear and promote Li-Ning footwear in NBA games, as well as in advertisements and at personal appearances in China -- such as at basketball clinics and upcoming NBA exhibition games.
Jan. 6, 2006: "Nike, with whom Bryant has a $45 million contract, featured him in print ads last year in Sports Illustrated, though he wasn't pushing any specific product. Nike has, though, finally given Bryant a signature shoe of his own - the Zoom Kobe I - which he debuted in Miami on Christmas Day. (For the last couple of years, Bryant had been associated with various Nike shoes that had not been directly tied to his name.)" Philadelphia Inquirer
Jan. 6, 2006: "The Zoom Kobe I will be available around the country on Feb. 1 and sell for $130, according to a Nike spokesman. Nike is planning a national campaign for the shoe, with print, billboard and television advertising." Philadelphia Inquirer
Jan. 6, 2006: "The television commercials for Bryant's campaign will be created by Wieden and Kennedy, the world-renowned ad agency that has done Nike ads going back to Michael Jordan's earliest days with the company. Bryant will also launch a line of clothing soon after the shoe is dropped - which should coincide with the all-star break in mid-February." Philadelphia Inquirer
Nike Basketball Sneakers News:
August 15, 2005 - the Board of Directors of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) declared a cash dividend of twenty-five cents ($0.25) per share on its outstanding Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock payable on October 3 , 2005, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 12 , 2005.
July 7, 2005 - Nike announced today that it will host basketball phenomenon, LeBron James, on a three-city tour of Asia. Designed as a cross-cultural exchange between LeBron and young kids throughout Asia, the Tour will make stops in Tokyo, Beijing and Hong Kong beginning August 2nd. From the first day LeBron James picked up a basketball, he has never played alone, and he's not about to start. LeBron knows he is the sum of his experiences, those that he has shared with his mentors, coaches, teammates and fans. And through his Asia Tour Summer 2005, LeBron and Nike hope to create new experiences for him with kids in Asia.
Brand Jordan Basketball Sneakers News:
February 9, 2005 - Jordan, a division of Nike, Inc., is celebrating 20 years of the shoe that changed the game - Air Jordan - with the debut of the new Air Jordan XX during NBA All Star 2005. The Air Jordan XX will be supported by a multi-pronged marketing approach that includes a provocative and inspirational national advertising campaign along with a major presence in Denver during NBA All-Star 2005 with a series of community, consumer and celebrity events. Officially available in retail stores on February 19th, the Air Jordan XX is the most technologically advanced basketball shoe in the world, underscoring Jordan's innovation platform and performance capabilities. Crafted by legendary shoe designer Tinker Hatfield, the motorcycle-inspired shoe weaves design and technology with the patented Independent Podular Suspension (IPS) and a laser-etched strap that includes over 200 icons, creating a tapestry of stories connected to Michael Jordan's unparalleled life and career.
Converse Basketball Sneakers News:
November 22, 2004 – Converse Inc. today announced the new Converse ICON Warrior basketball shoe, which fuses running and basketball attributes, will debut on the feet of NBA superstar and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and in national retailers beginning November 23, 2004. Reminiscent of the iconic, simple styling of the 1976 Converse Pro Leather made famous by basketball legend Julius Erving, the Converse ICON Warrior ($75) represents an innovative footwear design reflective of a new era of players’ evolving styles. The responsive Converse ICON Warrior is built to meet the comfort and performance needs of quick and strong finesse players such as Wade whose style demands enhanced stability, cushioning and mobility features to complement his natural abilities.
Other Converse player-endorser standouts including Chris Bosh (Toronto), Mike Sweetney (New York) and Andre Miller (Denver) will wear the Converse ICON Warrior during the 2004/2005 season.
Converse history about Chuck Taylor, the evolution and everything.
Converse basketball essay about Converse impact.
Reebok Basketball Sneakers News:
August 3, 2005 - adidas-Salomon AG (DAX:ADSG.DE) and Reebok International Ltd. (NYSE:RBK) today announced that their Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which adidas-Salomon AG would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Reebok for U.S. $59.00 per share in cash. The offer price represents a premium of 34.2% over the closing price of Reebok's stock on August 2, 2005. The transaction value is approximately ?3.1 billion (U.S. $3.8 billion) including the assumption of net cash of ?69 million (U.S. $84 million).
The combination of adidas and Reebok accelerates the adidas Group's strategic intent in the global athletic footwear, apparel and hardware markets. The new Group will benefit from a more competitive platform worldwide, well-defined and complementary brand identities, a wider range of products, and an even stronger presence across teams, athletes, events and leagues. The new adidas Group has pro forma aggregate 2004 revenues of ?8.9 billion (U.S. $11.1 billion).
"Today's announcement represents a major strategic milestone for our Group," said adidas-Salomon Chairman and CEO Herbert Hainer. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine two of the most respected and well-known companies in the worldwide sporting goods industry. adidas-Salomon and Reebok are energetic and growing companies with a shared commitment to innovation, sport performance and sport lifestyle. Together, we will expand our geographic reach, particularly in North America, and create a footwear, apparel and hardware offering that addresses a broader spectrum of consumers and demographics. With Reebok, we are advancing our position on the playing field of the sporting goods industry and are improving our financial strength to drive increased shareholder value."
Adidas Basketball Sneakers News:
August 3, 2005 - adidas-Salomon AG (DAX:ADSG.DE) and Reebok International Ltd. (NYSE:RBK) today announced that their Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which adidas-Salomon AG would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Reebok for U.S. $59.00 per share in cash. The offer price represents a premium of 34.2% over the closing price of Reebok's stock on August 2, 2005. The transaction value is approximately ?3.1 billion (U.S. $3.8 billion) including the assumption of net cash of ?69 million (U.S. $84 million).
The combination of adidas and Reebok accelerates the adidas Group's strategic intent in the global athletic footwear, apparel and hardware markets. The new Group will benefit from a more competitive platform worldwide, well-defined and complementary brand identities, a wider range of products, and an even stronger presence across teams, athletes, events and leagues. The new adidas Group has pro forma aggregate 2004 revenues of ?8.9 billion (U.S. $11.1 billion).
"Today's announcement represents a major strategic milestone for our Group," said adidas-Salomon Chairman and CEO Herbert Hainer. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine two of the most respected and well-known companies in the worldwide sporting goods industry. adidas-Salomon and Reebok are energetic and growing companies with a shared commitment to innovation, sport performance and sport lifestyle. Together, we will expand our geographic reach, particularly in North America, and create a footwear, apparel and hardware offering that addresses a broader spectrum of consumers and demographics. With Reebok, we are advancing our position on the playing field of the sporting goods industry and are improving our financial strength to drive increased shareholder value."
Puma Basketball Sneakers News:
August 19, 2005 - PUMA announced a long-term sponsorship of the Golden League Meeting “Weltklasse Zurich” beginning this year. Through this partnership PUMA will sponsor of the officials and the cliques in the stadium. This annual athletics-event begins on August 19th in the Letzigrund-Stadium in Zurich and is one of the most outstanding athletics-events in the world. The Weltklasse Zurich meeting belongs to the six meetings of the IAAF Golden League and is known for its unique atmosphere and well-informed audience. The IAAF-Meeting-Evaluation has voted Weltklasse Zurich as the best track in the world 12 times since 1988. Last year, the meeting was televised in more than 150 countries.
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