While the celebrity game is a cute way to engage the most casual of basketball fans, I never considered it apart of All-Star Weekend. From my few years experience, it is never in the NBA arena of that city and there is always overlap between the end of this game, and the start of the Rookie/Sophomore Rising Stars Challenge game.

For the second year in a row, the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge pitted a team of combination rookie and sophomore international players against 1st and 2nd-year NBA players from the United States. The mesh of players led to a combination of athletes across the sportswear brand spectrum.

Andrew Wiggins kept it clean going with the Canada-themed ‘Marita’ adidas Crazylight Boost 2.5; a Player Edition that the Stripes recently released on the low. He also started the game in a black/gold Crazylight Boost 2.5 colorway adidas made especially to hook up to the Team World uniforms.

Emmanuel Mudiay brought out a red colorway of the Under Armour Fire Low. Two different editions of the Nike HyperLive were seen as well.

Nike had the strongest showing with 13 players in Swoosh sneakers (14 if you count Jabari who wore the Jordan CP3.IX).

Clint Capela, Nikola Jokic, and Dwight Powell all wore a never-before-seen green-and-orange colorway of the Nike HyperLive & LeBron Soldier IX that featured the same print. Karl Anthony-Townes laced up a corresponding colorway of the current Nike Hyperdunk as well.

Take a look at the three best sneakers seen during the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge.

Trey Lyles – ‘Freegum’ Nike LeBron 9 Soldier

Trey Lyles (@TreyMamba41) in the 'Freegums' @NikeBasketball LeBron Soldier IX during the #BBVArisingStars game at @NBAallStar. #BensNBAsneakerCards x #THDkicks

A photo posted by The Hoop Doctors (@thdkicks) on Feb 14, 2016 at 10:08am PST

Zach LaVine – ‘Northern Lights’ Nike Foamposite One

@ZachLavine8 throws it down during the #BBVArisingStars game at the 2016 @NBAallStar Weekend in Toronto. #BensNBAsneakerCards x #THDkicks

A photo posted by The Hoop Doctors (@thdkicks) on Feb 14, 2016 at 7:56am PST

Andrew Wiggins – ‘Marita’ adidas Crazylight Boost 2.5

Andrew Wiggins (@22wiggins) in the 'Marita' @adidasHoops Crazylight Boost 2.5 during the #BBVArisingStars game at @NBAallStar in #Toronto. #BensNBAsneakerCards x #THDkicks

A photo posted by The Hoop Doctors (@thdkicks) on Feb 14, 2016 at 8:35am PST

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The lowtop Jordan 5 makes a big return in 2016 with this second, new colorway of the year.

Called the ‘Dunk From Above’ Air Jordan V Low, the fifth signature sneaker for Michael Jordan was originally designed after a World War II fighter plane and that inspiration translates well into the lowtop version.

The official press release from the Nike News page doesn’t mention if this is a Remastered edition or not, but the white tumbled leather seen on the upper looks high-quality. The navy counter-color with gold accents makes this new Air Jordan 5 Low colorway one of the strongest releases of the year.

The ‘Dunk From Above’ Air Jordan 5 Retro Low releases on Saturday, February 20th for $175 on the Jordan webstore at 10 AM EST.

The post Air Jordan 5 Low – ‘Dunk From Above’ Release Info appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

In celebration of the Reebok Question’s 20th anniversary, the Vector brand is giving the Retro treatment to a colorway that Allen Iverson didn’t get to wear.

When it comes to the ‘Unworn’ Reebok Question, the backstory behind the colorway is very much noteworthy. This particular pair of the Iverson’s first signature sneaker was originally made to be worn during the 2000 NBA All-Star Game in Oakland.

Reebok had intended for Allen Iverson to wear a specialized colorway of the Question every NBA All-Star Weekend inspired by the host city. Instead, he wore the Answer and went on to lead all scorers during the 2000 All-Star Game with 26 points. The next year AI wore a white/navy Reebok Question during the ’01 All Star Weekend festivities.

The ‘Unworn’ Reebok Question releases on Saturday, February 20th for $140 on the Reebok webstore and Finish Line.

The post Reebok Question – ‘Unworn’ Backstory & Release Info appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Derrick Rose will not be in Toronto for the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend this year. That, however, wasn’t for lack of proper footwear as adidas had this new D Rose 6 Boost colorway ready just in case.

For the ‘Aurora Borealis’ adidas D Rose 6 Boost, purple adidas Primeknit is used throughout the upper with a teal, triangular pattern extending from the tongue up the forefoot of the sneaker.

What I find the most interesting is that they come with a few different upper constructions. Despite this pair featuring the adidas Primeknit sewn upper, the standard MSRP price wasn’t increased as seen with the J Wall 2.0 & D Lillard 2.0 editions.

The ‘Aurora Borealis’ adidas D Rose 6 Boost is available NOW for $140 on the adidas webstore.

The post adidas D Rose 6 Boost – ‘Aurora Borealis’ Release Info appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Though it might not seem like it, James Harden is having a career year. Not even a full year after switching from Nike to an adidas sneaker endorsement, we are seeing his first Player Exclusive pair release.

Thanks to a career-high in points, assists, and rebounding averages, James Harden earned his way into the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto and adidas will have him laced properly in this new all star crazylight boost 2.5 PE.

Featuring sewn Primeknit construction on the upper, top-of-the-line Boost foam cushioning in the heel, this adidas Crazylight Boost 2.5 ‘All-Star’ PE features the adidas Xeno light-reactive material on the upper. What seperates the Xeno print from standard reflective 3M or other similar materials is that Xeno not only reacts to direct lights from camera flashes, but indirect light in the form of the sun or near-by displays.

In the last few words of the press release sending over the assets included in this post, adidas representatives stated that more James Harden PE colorways of the Crazylight Boost 2.5 will release in the Spring.

The ‘James Harden All-Star’ adidas Crazylight Boost 2.5 PE releases on Saturday, February 12th for $140 on the adidas webstore.

The post Adidas Unveils ‘All-Star’ Crazylight Boost 2.5 For James Harden appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

It’s eye-opening to think that Allen Iverson made his NBA debut 20 years ago in 1996.

Essentially the same shape as the Reebok Question we have come to know, The Prototype by Reebok features a higher-cut silhouette than the Question as well as shifted branding. Designed while Iverson was still in Georgetown, the Reebok Question ‘Prototype’ has a literal question mark branding to signify all of the questions around AI’s yet-to-be-determined career.

2016 will have no shortage of the Reebok Question as twenty different pairs are scheduled to release in honor of the 20th anniversary of Allen Iverson’s first signature sneaker.

This first colorway of The Prototype by Reebok releases Friday, February 5th for $200 on the Reebok webstore.

The post Reebok Prototype Backstory & Release Info appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Inspired by the location of the 2016 NBA All-Star Game is this new, upgraded version of Damian Lillard’s current adidas signature sneaker.

For the ‘Aurora Borealis’ adidas D Lillard 2.0 Boost, the upper usually made from synthetic materials have been replaced with adidas Primeknit woven textile. The cushioning has also been drastically updated with a large chuck of adidas Boost foam included in the heel.

It is great to see adidas incorporate their top-of-the-line sneaker technology like sewn Primeknit and Boost foam into an existing sneaker without raising the pricetag significantly.

The ‘Aurora Borealis’ adidas D Lillard 2 Boost is available NOW on for $115 on the adidas webstore.

The post Adidas D Lillard 2 Boost – ‘Aurora Borealis’ Release Info appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Odee nickname aside, this new Kobe XI colorway is very strong without any gimmicks.

Said to be inspired by the celebration of Kobe’s career, the ‘Last Emperor’ Nike Kobe XI is simply a great display of how a gradient design could be used on an entirely Flyknit upper.

This updated version of Nike’s proprietary construction displays different woven patterns. The large Zoom Air cushioning capsule in the heel is seen thru the translucent outsole.

The ‘Last Emperor’ Nike Kobe XI releases on Thursday, February 4th for $200.

The post Nike Kobe XI ‘Last Emperor’ Release Date appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

After James Harden made the highly-publicized endorsement switch from Nike to adidas there wasn’t much else heard.

Nick DePaula, now of Nice Kicks, had access to three Player Exclusive pairs of the adidas Crazylight Boost 2.5 and shared this picture. The 2.5 Primeknit upgrades from the regular Crazylight Boost 2 are clearly seen; but what caught my attention the most is the H13 Logo on the tongue of all three adidas. You could even argue the bottom of the #3 makes the shape for the J however this isn’t likely to be his final adidas logo – using his beard is too good of branding to pass up.

No word if any of these three James Harden Player Exclusive pairs of the adidas Crazylight Boost 2.5 will release.

[ images via Nick DePaula/Nice Kicks ]

The post New James Harden Logo Unveiled On Crazylight Boost 2.5 PE Set appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

2016 is looking to be a big year for the Air Jordan II. Though early in the year, this new colorway might be the best pair scheduled for this year.

For the ‘Alternate’ Air Jordan 2 Retro, Gym Red is the only other color set against an all-black upper. This new Jordan 2 stayed true to 1986 idea as shown by pairing both a smooth leather and python leather panels for the upper.

When Michael Jordan was playing for the Chicago Bulls he started a tradition of debuting a mostly-black colorway of whatever sneaker he was wearing at the time.

The ‘Alternate’ Air Jordan 2 Retro releases on Saturday, February 6th for $190.

The post Air Jordan 2 Retro – ‘Alternate’ Release Info appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

The video consists of watching Andre Drummond work out, play video games, go bowling, and basically humanize the Detroit Pistons big man in a way that Cassy Athena has become known for through the Thru The Lens series. With an additional 20 episodes in the archive and in its second season, Thru The Lens quickly became one of the best NBA profile videos online.

On the KICKS side of things, Andre Drummond is seen both training and hooping in the ‘Classic Charcoal’ Jordan Dub-Zero; released in February 2015. Good to see Drummond showing versatility (and functionality) in his sneaker rotation.

A closer inspection of the training scene showed a cut-in of a different day where Andre Drummond was wearing the ‘Barcelona Days’ Air Jordan VII while having his biometrics recorded.

Cassy Athena is a basketball photographer/videographer and has a flourishing career because of a good work ethic paired with the ability to build close relationships with basketball players across all levels from the NBA to top high school prospects. Cassy has a social media brand strong enough to make her image watermark sought-after.

The post Andre Drummond Wears Jordan Dub-Zero ‘Classic Charcoal’ On Thru The Lens Spot appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Under Armour is looking to cement the relationship between the brand and Stephen Curry with the Curry Two ‘The Storm’ release.

For some reason, the official name of this colorway is ‘The Storm’ Under Armour Curry Two. Colored in different shades of grey, the black accents seen through the paint midsole paint speckles and textile back-half of the upper compliment the whole sneaker well.

This new Curry Two colorway literally looks like cement and if you caught the wordplay in the first sentence, then I appreciate your attentiveness to these write-ups.

‘The Storm’ colorway of the Under Armour Curry Two is available NOW on for $130 on the UA webstore.

The post Under Armour Curry Two – ‘The Storm’ Release Date appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

The Jordan 1 is more popular than ever thanks to the Retro explosion.

Released at the same time the AJ1 did in 1985, the ‘Shadow’ Air Jordan 1 KO features an entirely canvas upper in a black-and-grey colorway from it’s original debut. This edition is the apart of the OG series that Jordan Brand introduced which takes details from original Air Jordans (like NIKE AIR nylon tags) and applies it to current Retro releases.

There is a lot of controversy around what the “KO” in the Air Jordan 1 KO actually means. Similar to the way I did an article about what the I.E on Jordan labels mean for Finish Line maybe I’ll do an in-depth article about the true KO meaning.

The ‘Shadow’ Air Jordan 1 KO High releases on Saturday, February 6th for $140.

The post Air Jordan 1 KO High – ‘Shadow’ Release Info appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

This is very likely to be the best Team Jordan release in 2016.

Even though the original Jordan Jumpman Team II colorway is only available for pre-order on the Foot Locker webstore, the sneaker retailer quietly released this new Gym Red colorway.

Late last year, early pictures of the Jordan Jumpman Team II made their way around the internet. Essentially a takedown (budget) of the Air Jordan XIII and originally released at the same time in 1997, the design similarities are very clear and will likely be more sought after than other Team Jordan silhouettes because of the look.

This good Gym Red colorway and lack of JORDAN branding across the midsole are added bonuses and makes this the most appealing Jordan Jumpman ever.

The ‘Gym Red’ Jordan Jumpman Team II is available NOW for $140 at the Foot Locker webstore.

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The impact of entertainment is often overlooked, but we are quickly reminded of the magnatude when products release. Don C, a stylist from Chicago and associate of Kanye West used his platform to launch Just Don; a high-end sportswear brand most known for selling NBA hats with the brim constructed exotic materials.

This collaboration story makes sense because during the 1986-87 NBA season when the Air Jordan II first released, the panels were said to be crafted in Italy. The luxury take on the cap, a sportswear staple, that Don C and the Just Don brand bring feels like an authentic pairing. Doubly so given the history DC2 & Kanye have with the Jumpman brand.

Last year around this time is when Don C first collaborated with Jordan Brand on a pair of blue Jordan IIs with the same Chanel bag design inspiration.

The ‘Beach’ Just Don x Air Jordan II releases on Satuday, January 30th for $350 in very limited quanities on the Nike webstore at 10 AM EST.

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