Nike is releasing the Nike KD 3 “Christmas” this holiday season for 2023. The KD 3 “Christmas” Originally released in 2010 alongside the Kobe 6 “Grinch” and LeBron 8 V/2 “Christmas”. A few colorways of the KD 3 have been confirmed for later this year, as well as the “All-Star” KD 3 that was released this past February.
This KD 3 is Dressed in a bright yellow on the upper and as well as a translucent yellow outsole, which is far from your traditional Christmas kicks that have Green, Red and white. It does feature orange accents on the swoosh and Blue “KD” branding on the tongue, heel and Nike Swoosh.
Expect the KD 3 “Christmas” to release during Holiday 2023 at Nike retailers and over at Nike.com. The retail price will be $130 USD. (Photos below are from the 2010 KD 3 “Christmas” pair)
The Nike LeBron 20 “Nike Lifer” pays tribute to Nike, as he has a lifetime contract with the swoosh and he is the only basketball player as of right now to have a lifetime deal. (Cristiano Ronaldo is the other only athlete to have a lifetime deal with Nike.)
Dressed in gray, purple, volt, Orange, blue, and Black color blocking almost like a “What The” LeBron with a variety of colors. This Nike LeBron 20 has a flyknit integrated with TPU upper with double Swooshes on the lateral sides of the sneaker. It also features a special “XX” lace lock and special graphic insoles. It also has a speckled black midsole and mismatched rubber outsoles.
Take an official look down below at the Nike LeBron 20 “Nike Lifer” which is set to arrive on March 23rd on Nike.com and at Nike retailers for a retail price of $200 USD.
The Air Jordan 9 “Powder Blue” is set to release in 2024 for its 30th anniversary, this pair also pays homage to Jordan’s Collegiate Days back at UNC. The last time we saw these was back in 2010 and its original release was 1994.
The midsole comes dressed in powder blue, the upper comes dressed in white with Black accents such as the tongue, eyelets, liner, the Jumpman on the midsole, and pull tabs. Despite Jordan never wearing the Air Jordan 9 as a Chicago Bull he did wear them for baseball as the shoe was heavily influenced by a baseball glove, and Jordan did also lace them up on the set of Space Jam.
While no release information has been released yet these are rumored to release in 2024 in its original form.
A new Nike Ja Morant has surfaced in a mismatched colorway. The Nike Ja Morant 1 has yet to officially release, but during the NBA All-Star Weekend they did have a pop up shop dedicated to the Nike Ja Morant 1.
This colorway is a mismatched pair, one shoe is blue with red accents and the other shoe is red with blue accents, both swooshes are black and wrap around the medial and lateral area of the sneaker. It is being rumored that this could be called the “Spider-Man” or “Superman” Colorway but it’s yet to be determined if it’s associated with either super hero. The Nike Ja 1 also does feature Nike Air Zoom technology in the forefoot area.
There is no official release date as of yet, but expect these to release in April when the Nike Ja Morant 1 officially launches. Despite Ja Morants recent controversy Nike does plan to release the Nike Ja Morant 1.
Kevin Durant looked calm and took efficient shots, the Phoenix Suns defense allowed the mavericks to comeback after gaining a nice lead. Luka Doncic struggled in the first quarter. The Suns defense was able to limit Doncic on 1-7 shooting. The Mavericks defense struggled to guard Durant but double teamed Devin Booker on almost every possession. Doncic seemed to appear injured and headed to the locker room to get checked.
End Of First: Suns Lead after 1 against the Mavericks (31-26)
Second Quarter:
The Mavericks defense had no answer for KD, but the Mavericks offense was able to spread the floor and shoot the 3 ball effectively to keep themselves in the game.
Luka came back in the second quarter but seemed to be limping and running slowly but was able to score and assist effectively. Tim Hardaway was the biggest story on the mavericks team in the second as he caught fire from three point range and had 15 points off the bench. The Mavericks Bench provided many points in the first and second.
The Suns defense couldn’t stop the mavericks from shooting the three ball and couldn’t keep their lead they kept allowing the mavericks to fight back and either tie the game or take the lead. The Mavericks offense has kept the Suns defense on their toes by spreading the floor and knocking down their shots. Booker started to heat up this quarter and so did Durant offensively.
End of Second: Dallas heads into the Half leading 62-59 against the Suns
Halftime Stats:
Score: 62-59 Dallas leads
Suns:
Devin Booker: 17 Pts, 3 assist, 2 Rebounds
Kevin Durant: 16 Pts, 1 assist, 4 Rebounds
Mavericks:
Tim Hardaway Jr: 18 Pts, 1 assist, 1 Rebound
Luka Doncic: 10 Points, 3 Assists, 5 Rebounds
Third quarter:
The Mavericks maintained the lead until the final minute of the quarter where they played a bit sloppy and kept fouling and turning the ball over. But the Mavericks were still playing very well, shooting the three point ball and spreading the ball. The bench yet again has been a big factor in this game. Doncic did heat up and played a lot better than he did in the first half.
The Suns trailed most of the game but were able to stay in the game and take the lead in the final minute of the third. The Suns put up 36 points in the third and Booker yet again caught fire and led the team to a very nice quarter. A very aggressive and hard fought third quarter from the Suns. The defense played a little bit better but still struggled to defend the perimeter.
End of Third: Suns have the lead 96-95 over the Mavericks.
Fourth Quarter:
Doncic was on the bench to start the fourth but Irving lead the team to begin the quarter and the Mavericks were able to grab the lead again and play excellent defense on Durant and Booker. The Mavericks defense were able to limit other options from the Suns such as Ayton and Chris Paul, but Durant and Booker were still able to score here and there to stay in the game. Doncic sat most of the fourth until the 5:41 minute mark when he subbed in during crunch time. The Mavericks defense towards the end started to fall apart and allow easy buckets for the Suns. The Mavericks could not stop the pick & roll play and it was easy buckets for the Suns. Doncic missed the game tying bucket to possibly force an overtime game.
The Suns kept turning the ball over in the fourth and committing fouls, Paul was visually frustrated this quarter when the Suns kept turning the ball over and weren’t able to hit their shots. The Suns defense has not been able to stop the three point shot and are late on almost every rotation. During the 6-minute mark the Suns were able to make it a close game and started passing the ball and scoring effectively. The Suns offensively were able to keep themselves in the game while Chris Paul finally started to ease into the game and play the Point Guard role well, he was able to spread the floor and make very crucial shots. Durant and Booker took over in crunch time and put the team on their back to put them in a winning position. Durant put the game on ice with a go ahead bucket and two free throws.
End Of Fourth: Suns Win 130-126 over the Mavericks
Final Score: 130-126
Final Summary: The Suns take down the Mavericks 130-126 in a close game. A very well fought game between the Suns and Mavericks which led to an amazing game, this game felt like a NBA playoff game 7 where all the Stars scored over 30+ points and in the final two minutes they were going back and forth exchanging points.
