We’re going to keep the 4th of July simple with a quick rundown of the best Team USA Olympic kicks. People too preoccupied today with beer, hamburgers and fire works for in-depth content so only shoes worn by players at the games will be eligible. FIBA World Championship squads will not be included. Enjoy your day and don’t ‘Jason Pierre-Paul’ yourself this evening!
Easy. World meet Michael, Michael meet the world.
The King’s World Stage
LeBron X+ PE2012 saw the short lived release of Nike’s + technology. The Hyperdunk and LeBron X could be linked up to the Nike + app to get feedback, workout drills and tips. It raised the price tag substantially so it didn’t do so well, and the Apple Watch came out soooo…. there was no need for the technology. With that said, there’s no doubt in my mind that the the LBJ X’s Olympic colorway is a top-10 silhouette from the LeBron line. The pair he wore in-game featured red accents instead of gold like the limited release pair.
Don’t Reach, Young Blood
Kyrie 2 PEPlayers reached, Kyrie taught lessons nightly in 2016. Here we have a perfectly executed Kyrie 2 PE in mostly navy. Red accents match up nicely with that year’s Elite Socks and a white midsole/ clear outsole finishes up the look. The masses would get a white based USA colorway that was underwhelming (the colors didn’t match up). At the end of the Games Nike dropped a Gold Medal pair too.
Kobe had to be Kobe
’08 Hyperdunk ‘Mamba’ PENike kept Kobe STUPIDLY laced up throughout the ’08 games. We had a GR release with a simple leather, red, white and navy color scheme. 2016 saw the release of the ‘United We Rise’ PE but Nike has one last ace up their sleeve. Kobe wore a ‘mamba’ edition with snake shedding print, his #10 and USC color blocking… absolutely amazing.
KD Enters the Battlefield
KD IV ‘Olympic’Durant just barely missed making the ’08 roster but was an obvious choice for the ’12 games and beyond. The ’12 KD IV remains his most popular model.
KG’s Weapon of Choice
Nike Flightposite II ‘KG’ OlympicsAlonzo in the Air Force Authority with KG in his mechanically tough Air Flightposite KG during the 2000 games. I bet most of you didn’t know either player ever suited up for Team USA.
Various Team Photos
RJ = ’04 Shox Elite, Boozer = 2k4 PE, ‘Melo = Jordan 2 PEs.2000 team, who can name numbers: 4, 11, 13 and 15?Dream Team 2 with plenty of love for the Air More Uptempo ‘Olympic’. Shaq’s wearing his big ass Reebok Preachers next to his teammate, Penny, in the Zoom Flight 96.How, just how? Air Zoom Generation’s and Jordan 2’s that haven’t ever released… not a good year for USA Hoops.Nike uses the Olympics as a global platform for their newest products. In ’08 it was the OG Hyperdunk and in ’12 Nike pushed their newest Hyperdunk hard. Note CP3 in his 5th signature shoe and Andre in the 2011 Hyperfuse low.Chuck in the Air Force 180, Pat in his Ewing Eclipse and MJ in the AJ 7.
Las Vegas native living in Portland, OR. Interests include: shoes, sports, music, video games and food. Extremely passionate about Nike and the Lakers. I've been collecting shoes for over 15 years! Follow me on IG & Twitter to see my personal collection and if you have questions. #rahbeekicksit
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