As the NBA season comes to an end, the people at Nike continue to work. This past Christmas season, we got our first post-retirement sneaker from Nike Basketball, the Kobe A.D.
We got new images of a new Kobe A.D. model dubbed NXT. The new model has a whole new silhouette sharing some qualities from the original A.D. sneaker. As you can tell from our photos below, a shroud is now part of the Kobe System. Last season, the Kobe Zoom Icon was the first Kobe sneaker to feature a shroud, but not in this way. That model was more of a Glove inspired shoe, this one however extends the current A.D. tier. It is unclear to say if the shroud is full-removable similar to the Jordan 16 and 17.
Another new addition to the Kobe series is the Swoosh placement. Since 2009, the Swoosh has always remained profiled on the lateral side of the shoe. The same spot. Same area. Never changed. They may have tweaked the size of the Swoosh, but it usually stayed put for 8 continuous years. This time around, they reversed it and positioned it lower onto the midsole of the sneaker. It’s different, but it looks great. Change is always good as Nike always pushes the boundaries of design and technology.
As far as technology, the A.D. EXT could keep the same cushion as the original A.D. Cushion on the original Kobe A.D. is top loaded with a 8.46MM Zoom bag (via fastpass). Aside from slight material changes on the upper with the knit mesh shroud and the external heel counter, all else stays the same. We’re hoping that the cushion was updated as many have not enjoyed the A.D.’s performance. We here at Kicksologists have not yet tried them so we can only speculate.
The fit will also be a tad different as these do not have the traditional tongue. You can slip these on conveniently as long as you figure out how to lace them up.
So what does this mean for the Kobe line? Well from what we know, Nike Basketball has used a shroud now for the Kobe line quite a bit. Aside from the Zoom Icon, which wasn’t really a sig, could this mean more models will come out in the future, similar to the NXT model? Would auto-lacing be part of the future? Word is, auto-lacing will be one of the innovations in the next coming years for the company. At this point in time, the Kobe 13 and 14, or should we say, the Kobe A.D. 2 and 3 are already made. It would be exciting for Nike kitchen to debut a new wave of tech for the line as it evolves.
The Nike Kobe A.D. EXT in Grey/White is scheduled to release on April 3, 2017. The other Neon Volt colorway is still TBA. Rumor has it the price will be se at $200.00 USD. Keep it locked here on Kicksologists.com for the latest.
