SOLE COLLECTOR: Sneakers

words_Nick DePaula

With the Beverly Center’s House of Hoops launch looming, here’s a look at the ‘Ronaldinho’ inspired Nike Hyperdunk, featuring Kobe Bryant’s Shozoko logo along the tongue and the Brazilian soccer star’s former FC Barcelona team colorway. While Ronaldinho may now play for AC Milan, he and Kobe struck up a friendship over a year ago through some mutual Nike contacts during his Barcelona days, and Kobe even says he wore #10 this past summer in the Beijing Olympic Games as a nod to his close friend and favorite soccer player.

Along the shoe’s upper, you’ll notice Barcelona’s colors of blue, garnet, yellow and black each taking a fair share of the several panels. The blue toe cap and yellow ankle collar both feature a texturized pattern, and the entire outsole also features a speckle print. For more release information, keep checking back shortly, as we’ll be hitting you with pricing and launch date details soon.