(Valenti)nes Day

Things are not good for the Lakers right now.  The Lakers are 17-25 right now (not in the playoffs), Dwight Howard and Steve Nash can't stay healthy or find chemistry.  Mike D'Antoni is running the team into the ground.  Plus, cross-city rival Clippers are in third place (32-12) and one of the most exciting teams

But the one constant is Kobe Bryant. Second to only Kevin Durant in scoring, Mamba is still one of the league's deadliest scorers. 

One thing that has remained the same for me is my favorite Kobe signature shoe...the Zoom Kobe IV.

My only Kobe iD is this AZK IV, which emulates the "Valenti" iD  AZK IV he wore 5 years ago...

A cool pic now, since they Kobe and Metta World Peace are now teammates.

As you can see here, the ankle guard & ankle collar are different colors.  The "Valenti" and "24" embroidery are lacking, but the rest is the same.

In my opinion, the AZK VI is the best performing Kobe (though the VIII is growing on me fast)...but all around the IV is still my fav...

Always On My Mind

Nike All Star Basketball pack or Raygun collecton?  Pass like gas.  "Black History Month" kicks?  Not interested.  Any "Year of the Snake" release? Yawn.  Air Jordan XX8 "Days of Flight" or AJ V this weekend? #couldcareless

I'm just trying to hold off buying these NB998s or NB1300s from Packers.  Sigh...

Reign On Me

The Reebok Kamikaze II "Sonics" colorway sold out in seconds this week (and ow flipping for Air Jordan Retro prices on eBay).  Now you will be able to grab either of these OG colorway of the Shawn Kemp shoe on Feb 1st. 

The red one has me stung!

#Snakebitten

The adidas Derrick Rose 3.5 "Year of the Snake", dropping this Thursday.  Not too sure I'm digging this colorway. Plus the $160 retail is steeeeeeeeeep.

Game Hova

So recently Jay-Z busted out a pair of the Nike KD 5 "DMV" on a night out with Beyonce...

I was planning on avoiding the KD V as last year's model didn't fit me at all. But this colorway was so hot & I was able to find for retail so I pulled the trigger.

Like the KD IV, these ran small, so I went a size up. The cushioning is amazing, but the overall fit was narrow.  I loved the wide fit of the KD III, so it was weird to see the width of the next two sigs get narrower.

Plus, these shoes were ridiculously hard to put on. I had to unlace the top three lace holes just to slip these on.

If these were tailored to Durant's feet, I guess I have much fatter & wider feet than him.  Weird, cuz Kobes & Brons fit me just fine.

The verdict: despite the awesome design of the past two KDs, I simply can't wear them...

#moneysaved

Getting Worse?

Coming this month...the LunarEclipse 3.  I am sure thee are on-point performance-wise & comfort-wise, but aesthetically this model is getting harder to look at.

It's so hard to fade the original...

Thunderstruck

I haven't been a fan of Brand Jordan retro issues the past few years. But this was one release I had to get...

The original Thunder Air Jordan IV that released in 2006. It was bittersweet for me because I was able to get the Lightning version...

But the Thunder was much more elusive & rare. With resale values hitting $400-500, I refused to bite...

So the 2012 release was a welcome site.  As far as quality goes, I was impressed. The past few IV releases were fulled with goofy shapes, piss poor quality (plastic-looking leather) & terrible fit.

I felt they did this one right.  Even the toe box looks on point. I still recommend gutting the flimsy cheap sockliners with replacement insoles.

Thunderstruck!