words // Brandon Richard
Tomorrow, ten of the NBA's top teams will participate in the Christmas Day schedule, which starts with Boston and Brooklyn at noon and concludes with a late game between the Clippers and Nuggets. The best teams competing typically means the best players are competing, and with the best players usually comes signature footwear.
Now an annual tradition, sneaker brands are once again rolling out Christmas-specific kicks for their signature athletes. This year's offerings come from the usual suspects like Nike, the Jordan Brand and adidas Basketball, as well as upcoming China-based brands Li-Ning and PEAK.
Nike's signature pack includes the "Red Diamond" LeBron X, Rhinoceros Viper-inspired Kobe 8 System and a KD V with details representing a gaming console he received for a Christmas gift as a kid.
For adidas Basketball, there's the "Nightmare Pack," which consists of purple and black styles inspired by Tim Burton's classic holiday film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Derrick Rose's Rose 3 and Dwight Howard's adipower Howard 3 received the special treatment, as did the Crazy Light 2 and Top Ten 2000.
Jordan Brand went with simplistic white and grey-based pairs for Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony. The Christmas colorways of the CP3.VI and Melo M9 feature 3M reflective elephant print, festive red and green accents and custom insoles.
Dwyane Wade was the recipient of a thee-pack of Christmas Way of Wades from Li-Ning. He debuted a bright red and green pair at a charity event yesterday afternoon and revealed two additional pairs on Instagram earlier today.
The obvious star of the group is JaVale McGee and his PEAK signature shoe. Reminiscent of the Christmas LeBron 8 V/2, the McGee features a red upper, green-lined interior, "snow" speckled black midsole and white rubber outsole.
Signature athletes not yet represented in the poll include Kevin Garnett, Joakim Noah and Shane Battier. Will their respective brands have special pairs lined up for them?
Which Christmas 2012 signature hoop shoe is your favorite? Cast your vote below and let us know why in the comment section.
Nike LeBron X
Nike Kobe 8 System
Nike KD V
adidas Rose 3
adidas adipower Howard 3
Jordan CP3.VI
Jordan Melo M9
Li-Ning Way of Wade
PEAK McGee
additional images via Sole Movement, Kenlu
