A New Name Won’t Erase Old Memories

words_Nick Engvall

Although Kevin Garnett and Nike parted ways many years ago, the two will always be inked on the same page of the sneaker history books. Perhaps more like a tattoo between lost lovers, you know, the kind where a young couple shows up at the parlor after a few drinks and decides it would be a good idea to permanently ink each other’s name. It rarely turns out to be as long term as originally intended, and inevitably down the road one person ends up thoroughly disappointed, while the other person sits back with a smirk on their face, counting it as a victory of sorts in the many battles of life. In the case of the Nike and Garnett relationship, with KG bolting over the demand for a branded clothing line, Nike is the one with the overly content smirk on their face every time they get a look at the shoe now designated as the Nike Air 3.

A new colorway of the Air 3 is on its way to retailers. This particular colorway takes us back to the days when KG played for the Timberwolves. For many of us, the unique style of the Air 3 represents the pinnacle of sneaker design, and the combination of colors, highlighted by the iconic Hyper Blue gradient found on the uppers only intensifies those memories. While this retro is nearly an exact representation of its past form, the most notable change is the Max Air unit in the heel has replaced the original Tuned Air unit. So while Nike sits back and enjoys the better side of bad tattoos, we sneakerheads have the opportunity to revisit a past fling for $140 bucks at Nike retailers.

pics via Kix-Files

Tags: Nike Air 3, Nike Air Garnett 3, Nike Air KG 3

11 Responses to “A New Name Won’t Erase Old Memories”

1. Sneak-a-lot says:

   December 10, 2009 at 6:16 am

   I’m not usually one for Nike Air 3′s but i really gotta cop me these.
   Does anybody know how many different color ways there are
   thanks =]

   Reply
   • ajordanxi says:

     December 10, 2009 at 8:12 am

     The original black/blue and white/blue-black (shown above) are out. Then in 2010 there will be a black/grey and white/black-green colorway dropping 1st quarter as well.

     Reply
2. Nene33 says:

   December 10, 2009 at 7:05 am

   A good lookin shoe, the story……..kinda creepy ……….. and wrong, Nike ended up with a great shoe, KG got his ring, and also ended up with great shoes, kinda sounds like a win-win to me.

   Reply
3. Nick says:

   December 10, 2009 at 7:13 am

   KG also ended up with great signature shoes that carried his name after leaving Nike?

   I musta missed all that…..with the AND1 KG2 being his best.

   There’s not one person that wanted to see Nike and KG ever split. It was a perfect chemistry of youthful exuberance and unfortunately KG wanted a bit more out of his deal than Nike was willing to offer.

   Reply
   • Nene33 says:

     December 10, 2009 at 7:34 am

     Now don’t be like that, I’m not hating on your ultra-lightweight, guard shoes, just because they don’t work for me…… a lot of big-men love the adidas KG line.

     And I always side with the player, if they’re unhappy, go somewhere where you feel appreciated.

     Reply
4. Darryl says:

   December 10, 2009 at 11:07 am

   I had the black & blue orginals, Mike Miller wore them @ Florida including 2000 NCAA Mens Championship Game vs. Michigan State

   I wouldn’t get the orginals, not paying the price and it doesn’t have original makings of shoe such as OBF Original Black Family or Garnett on shoe, because he’s currently with Adidas

   Reply
5. big boi says:

   December 10, 2009 at 2:37 pm

   nice! i remember the original kicksology.com making a review of these joints.

   Reply
6. Stackhouse says:

   December 12, 2009 at 7:43 pm

   Oh the memories… fifth grade.. KG’s(then). Never forget these along with the black and blue ones.

   Reply
7. QtrQuise says:

   December 13, 2009 at 1:40 am

   SMH…memories! I had the original PE Edition, sent to me from the “Big Ticket” himself as a Christmas gift in H.S. . And as a surprise, he showed-up to my bball game during the Christmas Tournament and sat directly behind the bench……cool Nike, but NO CIGAR!

   They ain’t the same w/o the #21 stitched in the tounge………

   Reply
8. Seven Duece says:

   December 18, 2009 at 1:56 am

   I’ll be getting a pair, since this was definitely a high point in shoe performancne and design. Does anyonne know why they switched from tuned air to max and what that translates to on the court?

   Reply
9. gally chan says:

   December 20, 2009 at 2:06 am

   why they just replace the original carbon-fiber plate with a cheaper TPU-like mid-foot shank plate? that’s ridiculous! Nike come on we need a ’100%’ retro on this one!!!

   Reply