Just when you thought you’ve seen all the bizarre NBA outfits out there, Kevin Durant went and one-upped everyone.
The Oklahoma City Thunder star took the court for warmups ahead of Thursday’s game against the Utah Jazz rocking his latest shoe, the Nike KD 8 Elite. Nike debuted the sneakers in February, but Durant used Thursday as an opportunity to test a unique variation of his new kicks.
Spoiler: They’re pretty absurd.
To clarify, those aren’t orange socks Durant is wearing — the flexible material covering his lower legs is part of the shoes, which literally go up to his knees.
Nike Basketball design director Leo Chang actually discussed the bizarre shoes a few days ago, telling SoleCollector.com the knee-high version could debut in time for the NBA playoffs.
“There’s one he’s actually going to wear that goes all the way up to his knees,” Chang said. “That’ll be pretty cool. Just from a product standpoint, we’re looking on how to blend the tight that he normally wears — in sock or shoe. What if we were to literally integrate all that together into one product — so that it almost feels seamless where you don’t know where the next layer starts. That was the idea behind that — to push for something more futuristic.”
“Futuristic” is one way to describe it.
Durant changed into the normal, non-knee-high version of the KD 8 Elite for the game and went on to tally 20 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in OKC’s 113-91 win.
Thumbnail photo via Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images
