The tandem of Kevin Durant and designer Leo Chang have done it again. Their collab on the KD8 has resulted in a breakthrough basketball shoe.
Space Age Tech
This is the first Nike Basketball shoe to bring high-strength woven textile that can be designed in high resolution – down to the pixel – for the rigors of basketball footwork. “It is the most technically precise shoe we’ve designed for Kevin. Flyweave is optimal for his multidimensional skillset and footwork as he jumps, cuts, jabs and accelerates,” said Chang. Combined with Flywire cables in the forefoot, Flyweave locks you in like a seatbelt, but moves and feels like a second skin.
Born from the design principals of woven textiles engineered for spacesuits, Flyweave technology was just over two years in development when Chang and fellow Nike designer Thomas Bell singled it out for the KD8 upper.
Nike Zoom Air Undergoes a Transformation
“When I first tested the KD8, I instantly loved the springy response of the Zoom Air combined with the natural feel of the Flyweave. I didn’t want to take it off,” said Durant.
Well what makes that happen is the full-length Nike Zoom Air unit specifically designed for the KD8 that provides responsive cushioning that moves naturally with Durant’s foot. Thousands of high-strength fibers connect the top and bottom of this Zoom Air unit, which runs the foot’s entire length. For the first time in basketball, this Zoom Air unit is designed with strategically placed notches in the forefoot and heel to intuitively flex with the foot’s movement.
