Kicks Through the Lens (Week 7)

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by Brendon Schunck | Feb 9, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

A brand besides Nike/Jordan joins the countdown this week with a few colorways of their own. DeMar DeRozan continues to not play fair when it comes to new Kobe 6 Protro PE’s and P.J. Tucker dug way into the archives for a Kobe P.E. we haven’t seen anyone else rock before. Nike officially unveiled a completely new model, the Cosmic Unity, a shoe which is made of at least 25% recycled materials. This is a great step for Nike’s vision to a zero waste future in the footwear industry. Anthony Davis sported a clean white/gold color scheme of the Cosmic Unity this past week.

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, as well as other Nike sponsored athletes all rocked black/gold Black History Month colorways of their respective sneakers. Sometimes keeping it simple and to the point is the right way to go. Being Chris Paul’s teammate seems to have its perks as it appears one of Paul’s fellow Suns is getting his chance to wear some exclusive CP’s this season. DeRozan wore yet another crowd-pleasing mockup of a Kobe Protro 6 and the noise continues to increase for Nike to put Kobes back on the iD platform for customization. Scroll below for Week 7’s Kicks Through the Lens.

10. Jordan CP3.XIII “Southern University” – Langston Galloway

9. New Balance TWO WXY “BHM” – Dejounte Murray

8. Nike Cosmic Unity – Anthony Davis

7. 2012 Nike KD 4 “N7 Black” – John Wall

6. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “BHM” P.E. – DeMar DeRozan

5. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Pacers” P.E. – Domantas Sabonis

4. Nike LeBron 18 “CNY” – LeBron James

3. New Balance TWO WXY P.E.’s – Darius Bazley

2. 2007 Nike Kobe 2 “Westchester” P.E. – P.J. Tucker

1. Nike Kobe 6 Protro P.E. – DeMar DeRozan

Feb 9, 2021 No Comments

Kicks Through the Lens (Week 6)

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by Brendon Schunck | Feb 1, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

Nike Kobe 6 Protro PE’s have arrived. DeMar DeRozan, P.J. Tucker, Anthony Davis, Buddy Hield, Tobias Harris, and Devin Booker are all leading the surge on new Nike Kobe 6 Protros for the rest of this 2020-21 NBA basketball season. New patterns and designs are being seen on the 6’s scaled upper that we have never seen before. It’s as if each player goes in with Nike and decides what colors they want on it themself and how they want those colors to be implemented. This begs the question, and somewhat of a demand from sneaker enthusiasts, should Nike put the Kobe 6’s back on Nike iD (now “Nike By You”)? The model was previously a staple on the iD platform back during the shoe’s initial run during the 2010-11 season.

The Nike “LeBron Watch” series is back. On the 23rd of each month for the rest of the NBA season Nike will be releasing surprise drops of LeBron retro sneakers. First shoe to drop for this campaign was the Nike LeBron 8 V/2 “Graffiti.” This sneaker was originally a sample made just for LeBron and he sported them in some exhibition-style games back during the lockout that spanned from July to December of 2011. Who knows what Nike has in store for these LeBron Watch drops the next few months ahead. Look below to see the first wave of Kobe 6 Protros as well as a LeBron P.E. that we hope for sure ends up releasing to the public. This is Kicks Through the Lens Week #6.

10. Jordan XXXV “Georgetown P.E.” – Jeff Green

9. Nike Hyperdunk 08 “United We Rise” – Josh Richardson

8. Nike KD 4 “Galaxy AS” – Derrick Jones Jr.

7. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Bahamas” P.E. – Buddy Hield

6. Nike KD 13 “Aunt Pearl” (Alternate) – Kevin Durant

5. Nike Kobe 7 “What The” – John Wall

4. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Suns” P.E. – Devin Booker

3. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Spurs” P.E. – DeMar DeRozan

2. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Cheetah Yeezy 2” P.E. – P.J. Tucker

1. Nike LeBron 8 V/2 “Think Pink” – LeBron James

Feb 1, 2021 No Comments

Kicks Through the Lens (Week 5)

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by Brendon Schunck | Jan 25, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

Having been a former star at the University of Texas, Kevin Durant surprised us this past week by wearing a P.E. colorway of his Nike KD 13’s that were not from UT. Nonetheless, these KD 13’s definitely had to make our countdown for Week 5. Speaking of KD sneakers, P.J. Tucker sported one of the rarest KD samples out there, in probably the most classic silhouette of the line. Kobe 5 Protros are still going strong with the likes of Anthony Davis and DeMar DeRozan being the main front-runners for the line. A clean pair of Kobe 4 Protro P.E.’s were even spotted on one Milwaukee Bucks player.

MLK Day was one week ago today and Nike conjured up a simple, yet classic, white and gold color scheme to a couple of their on-court models. The “BHM” inspired colorway graced the Kobe 6 Protro and the LeBron 18’s, both iterations being mostly white uppers with hints of metallic gold throughout the shoe. The classic “BHM” lettering can be seen on the tongue of the Kobe 6’s. It appears a handful of Nike endorsees were seeded the Kobe 6 Protro BHM for MLK Day but we had to choose just one of those athletes for our countdown. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving got the white and gold BHM treatment on their respective signature sneakers. Scroll through to check out what shoes made up our countdown for Week 5 of Kicks Through the Lens.

10. Nike Kyrie 7 P.E. – Kyrie Irving

9. Nike Kobe 4 Protro P.E. – Jrue Holiday

8. Nike Kobe 6 “Rice” – Tim Luwawu Cabarrot

7. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – DeMar DeRozan

6. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Khris Middleton

5. Nike KD 13 “Oregon P.E.” – Kevin Durant

4. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Anthony Davis

3. Nike KD 4 (Sample) – P.J. Tucker

2. Nike LeBron 18 “BHM” P.E. – LeBron James

1. Nike Kobe 6 Protro “BHM” P.E. – Devin Booker

Jan 25, 2021 No Comments

Kicks Through the Lens (Week 4)

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by Brendon Schunck | Jan 18, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

Just when you think it’s time to turn the page on player exclusive colorways of the Nike Kobe 5 Protro, one Nike athlete brings out THE best color scheme we have seen yet – no contest. P.J. Tucker is firmly back in his countdown stance, sporting PE’s, samples, and retro Jordan colorways we haven’t seen in 10+ years. With the very successful run the Kobe 5 Protros had, we should all be excited for what Nike has in store for the Protro 6’s later in 2021.

DeMar DeRozan seems to be jokingly jabbing P.J. Tucker, stating that he has some heat of his own that will give Tucker a run for his money. Should P.J. be worried about DeRozan challenging his sneaker throne? We’re just going to get right into it. Here is the Top 10 list from Kicks Through the Lens for week 4.

10. Nike LeBron 3 “CTK” – Larry Nance Jr.

9. 2010 Jordan II “University Blue” – P.J. Tucker

8. Nike Zoom Freak 2 “Oregon” P.E. – Giannis Antetokounmpo

7. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Malik Monk

6. Nike LeBron 15 “Ohio State” P.E. – P.J. Tucker

5. 2012 Nike Kobe 7 “Barcelona” (Home) – Reggie Bullock

4. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – P.J. Tucker

3. Nike LeBron 18 P.E. – LeBron James

2. 2009 Nike Kobe 4 “Wedding” Sample – P.J. Tucker

1. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – DeMar DeRozan

Jan 18, 2021 No Comments

Kicks Through the Lens (Week 3)

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by Brendon Schunck | Jan 11, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

P.J. Tucker is still rocking heat on the court but according to him he’s not worried about defending his “sneaker crown.” “Nah…I’ve given it up.” These are the words Tucker spoke when asked about him carrying the torch as “sneaker king” for yet another season. Is P.J. just kidding? Is he just toying with us while he still manages to bring heat to the court that no other player can? I guess only time will tell.

Some fire PE’s are starting to roll out in the Jordan XXXV’s for feature endorsees like Jayson Tatum and Luka Dončić. We saw our first custom make the Top 10 list for the year. LeBron James pulled out two more banger colorways in his 18’s. With the models and colorways Nike/Jordan Brand are putting out, it’s going to be tough for another brand to sneak into the Top 10 this season. Scroll below for week 3 of our Kicks Through the Lens.