Nike Basketball News

Kobe: 5 Rings Puppet Tee

tonyhellberg1 — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:45:21 GMT

Its acts are controlled by outside forces.

Think: basketball gods pulling strings.

And they’re influenced by comedic backdrops.

See: the hilarity on your screen.

Cloth body. Hollow head.

Inanimate. Representational.

Flexible. Inventive.

Always funny. Because it’s almost real.

Manipulated - only animated - by hand.

Puppets may be children’s playthings. After all: only four fingers properly equip this small-scale figurine.

But in the theatre of NBA champions, that’s more than enough to rock five rings.

Check out nikestore.com soon to pick up your own!

ONE FOR THE THUMB

GoodN81 — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:56:11 GMT

Players battle for the honor of champion. To the victor: basketball superiority.

But defending the crown you already wear? Often times, even harder.

Long after the confetti stopped raining at The Coliseum, the 2009 NBA Champions were rewarded accordingly. The City of Angels mobbed to celebrate. Players added to their personal jewelry collection. Staples got new drapes.

And then it was time to do it all over again.

The mind-numbing repetition. Early mornings double-dating with late nights spent working on their weaknesses. Dribbling on the 82-game-long road that is the regular season while battling complacency, lethargy, boredom.

Their reward: immortality battling nightly with an opponent’s best offering, the ghosts of championships past shaking hands with the pressure to repeat.

The Los Angeles Lakers met that challenge - and then rose above it. They introduced new characters to Hollywood while fine-tuning their embarrassment of riches. They fought through injuries while working out the kinks - leaving the Lakers looking up at only one thing: outplaying their own shadow.

Living up to lofty expectations became a lesson in patience. Prudence. Basketball chops. Gearing up for what matters the most - even if that meant leaving a few individual goals and awards on the court.

It started against the plucky Oklahoma City Thunder. Reminder: in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. Then the Lakers took Utah’s very best. And taught them a lesson in playoff excellence. The Western Conference Finals? Another Kobe Bryant masterpiece theater closeout performance against the ever-inspired Suns.

The essence of the 2010 NBA Champions is wattage. As in star power. More importantly: the versatility within to not care who burned brightest.

A roster harnessed to the vehicle of achievement. Their collective worth measured not in box scores, but the ability of strained bodies and minds to recover, adjust and win.

By. Any. Means. Necessary.

Extremely skilled, now repeatedly accomplished. The sequel ends.
And Kobe is the 2010 NBA Finals MVP - another result of undisputed consummate play. Give it a few minutes to sink in. Then let your mind wander about the possibility of a 2011 trilogy.

LeBron James: Most Valuable Player

TheLetterJ — Mon, 03 May 2010 09:16:13 GMT

Score - check. 29.7 points per game.

Dish - check. 8.6 assists.

Board - check. 7.3 rebounds.

Defend - check. 1.6 steals and a block.

Win - check. Cleveland holds home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Game in, game out, LeBron James has picked up the check. But it's not just the raw numbers that add up to him being, say, the league's second-leading scorer. It's facts like these:

In NBA history, no forward has ever averaged more assists per game.

It's the highlight montages that include as many chase-down shot blocks as rim-rattling slam dunks.

The sense of team on a nightly display. The ingratiation of young rookies on the rise, veteran stars in new roles and seamless rotational additions from the trading deadline.

All punctuated by the joy of 15 guys bonding from choreographed pregame introductions through on-court, in-game, season-long dominance. With a superstar making sure that everyone basks equally in the afterglow of nailing their respective roles.

Sunday. The announcement making it official.

LBJ. 2010 MVP. Taking home 94.3 percent of the first-place votes.

A celebration of another record-setting season for a player who simply does things we've never seen before on the basketball court.

With back-to-back trophies on the mantel - a historical precedent only reached by 10 other players - LeBron now turns his laser focus back to hunting down a championship ring to match.

Celebrate LeBron's second Most Valuable Player award with the LeBron 2010 MVP Men's T-Shirt. Available now - in black and white - on nikebasketball.com.

The Collection: The Six MVP Edition

Hotnix — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:15:05 GMT

It’s official! LeBron James is this year's MVP. And though the announcement doesn’t come as a surprise to any basketball fan, Nike is celebrating with the release The Six MVP special edition shoe.

As the MVP chant still echoes in arenas during Lakers games, LeBron fans everywhere have been preparing their voices all season for a new rallying cry.

Soon you'll be able to show your love for the newly crowned Most Valuable Player by rocking The Six Witness MVP special edition. The shoe features a rugged all white textured leather upper to reflect LeBron’s gritty power game. The triple-stitched lateral stability rand and swoosh come in a polished black look, while the collar, forefoot and heel straps get the Witness treatment in bold black letters.

To add a touch of royal class, The Witness MVP edition showcases the white lion head logo on the breathable mesh tongue and is accented with gold around the midsole, with flecks in the outsole, The Six logo on the tongue and an MVP tag by the ankle.

The Witness MVP shoe will be available soon at Nikestore.com and House of Hoops locations.

House of Hoops by Foot Locker
New York
268 West 125th Street
NY, NY 10027
(212) 316-1667

House of Hoops by Foot Locker
Los Angleles
Beverly Center Mall - 6th Floor
8500 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 854-0071

House of Hoops by Foot Locker
Chicago
North Riverside Park Mall
7501 W Cermak Rd
Riverside, IL 60546
(708) 447-2060

The Collection: Witness MVP Tee

Hotnix — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:14:11 GMT

A certain superhero strikes fear in his opponents with a big S on his chest. After a historic season, LeBron’s chest will bear three very different letters: M.V.P.

Even though you’re not this year's Most Valuable Player, you can at least dress like one. Celebrate LeBron’s greatness and get your shine on in the special edition Witness MVP tee. Witness is printed in bold white letters on the black cotton tee. Framed in the center are the letters M.V.P. and a swoosh, shining in a regal gold. And to make it official, the L23 logo tags the sleeve.

You can get your hands on this limited edition tee at Nikestore.com and at House of Hoops stores.

Soon you’ll be able to complete the look with The Six Witness MVP special edition. Check back for details on the release.

LeBron James: 2009 NBA MVP

Hotnix — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:00:32 GMT

What separates a great player from a Most Valuable Player? After breaking countless individual scoring records and winning gold in Beijing, this season, LeBron found the answer.

His stats speak for themselves—28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. Now, had LeBron put up those numbers on an average team, he would be in the discussion, but it wouldn’t be a lock. Not without the team he’s built bonds with out there in Cleveland.

Lebron’s name topped every list even before the midseason break because he stuffed the stat sheet within the team concept. Everything he’s done this season-- on both ends of the court—has been totally within the framework of the Cavs, exactly as it’s been discussed in the locker room and on the practice court. His level of devotion to his squad is unrivaled in the league right now. His unique ability to inspire and lift his teammates perform better has also moved legions of fans around the world to do the same.

There are a several good players in Cleveland, and they’re all better because of LeBron. Not just because his presence occupies so much of the opponent’s attention, creating opportunities for them to shine. From the moment the bus leaves for the airport to the moment the final buzzer sounds, something of LeBron is rubbing off on each of those players—advice on a subtle way to defend the pick-and-roll, working on the best angle to cut so that LeBron can get them the rock, or working on a pre-game routine that helps break up a long and sometimes exhausting season.

That’s what a leader does, that’s what a great teammate does. He changes the game with a clutch shot, an impossible pass, a cheer from the sidelines, or a cloud of chalk. It’s why he’s considered one of the greatest of all time. It’s why in 2008-2009, he’s the most valuable.