words // Nick DePaula
cover shot // Zac Dubasik
additional images // Yulia Nidbalskaya
special thanks: Jermaine Tolentino
If you were into basketball as a kid, you dreamed of one day playing in the NBA. If you were into hoops and shoes, you dreamed of not only making it to the league, but also one day having your own sneaker.
While the best we can do now is collect them as civilians, for several of the game's brightest stars and biggest names, a signature sneaker isn't even enough. Player exclusive pairs have not only become increasingly frequent, but in the past few years, we've seen nearly all brands across the industry ramp up their PE production for NBA players more than ever before. They're even doing player exclusive colorways of signature sneakers for other players on the regular.
To celebrate this new era of PEs, we've got a look at some of this season's very best player exclusives ahead from adidas, Reebok and Under Armour, as well as a look at some of the very rarest of Air. Whether it's sneakers made for Michael Jordan himself, the one and only Bobby Simmons or even current stars like Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, we've got over 100 Air Jordan PEs featured for you to dive into.
For the first time, we'd also like to introduce a new series of guest columns, with fellow Stanford alums, pro ballers and sneaker addicts Josh Childress and Jeremy Guthrie chiming in on their favorite PE stories, along with hoops heads Russ Bengtson and Trey Kerby.
We've also got an in-depth interview with Nike CEO Mark Parker, designer Eric Avar and Kobe Bryant detailing his newest signature model, which is bound to have its own endless array of PEs on the horizon soon.
All that and more in The PE Issue ahead, available now at Foot Locker, Foot Action, Barnes & Nobles and sneaker boutiques nationwide.
In This Issue //
Columns -- Russ Bengtson / Josh Childress / Jeremy Guthrie / Trey Kerby
Focus: Collector -- Byron Warouw's Amazing Gary Payton Collection
Interview -- Kobe Bryant, Mark Parker & Eric Avar Discuss Taking The Nike Kobe 9 Much, Much Higher
Feature -- The Adidas Top Ten Returns As Top Tier
The Birth Of The PE -- The 1994 Air Jordan IX Player Exclusives
Interview -- Stephen Curry Locks In With Under Armour
Under Armour PEs -- Stephen Curry / Brandon Jennings / Kemba Walker / Raymond Felton
Feature -- Adidas Basketball's Crazy, Crazy PEs
Interview -- Isaiah Thomas Talks About His Kamikaze PEs
Kicktionary -- 100 Of The Best Air Jordan PEs
