Nike’s latest performance basketball shoe, the Nike Adapt BB, was released to the public on February 10, coincidentally on the day the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte took place.
The Nike Adapt BB is a self-lacing smart shoe controllable by a smartphone and has a motor embedded within the shoe. They need to be put on charge with the help of a wireless charging pad every fortnight or so. They cost a massive $350.
Nike kept in mind athletes, the world’s best ballers, when they created this shoe, so it does not wish for people to tag the Nike Adapt BB as a mere gadget or gizmo for the feet.
The shoe, with all its tech features included, weighs similar to that of a more conventional high-end basketball shoe.
The footwear component of the design, it is intended and it is designed in the same vein as our highest performing basketball products… So, higher ability, high life – Jordan Rice, part of Nike’s smart systems team that was involved in the making of the Adapt BB
NBA players, including Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Dallas’ Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers Kyle Kuzma, and New York’s Frank Ntilikina, are already in the Adapt. The Duke men’s basketball team has also given them a test drive.
It’s a sneaker, it’s a good shoe. I didn’t break it in enough for me to wear in a game, but it’s a phenomenal sneaker – Duke standout Cam Reddish
Jordan Rice stated that it took almost three years for the concept of the Adapt to go from first drawing to first game, although some insist that the idea was formed as early as 1989 when the ‘Back to the Future Part II’ was released. The self-lacing shoe idea was developed to add futuristic characteristics to the film – Michael J. Fox’s character, Marty McFly, pulls on a pair of gray Nike high-tops that light up and lace themselves at a touch of a button and exclaims, “Power laces! Alright!”
With the aim of developing a true custom fit for every foot, the buttons on the side of the sole of the Nike Adapt BB can adjust the tension of the laces or how the shoe wraps around the foot.
What’s more, the colors of the Nike self-lacing shoes can be changed at just a touch of a phone when it is synced to an app.
Moreover, the app could possibly collect performance data in the near future.
What that could look like in the future is something that’s much more integrated with digital services but feels real time and feels contextual – Jordan Rice, part of Nike’s smart systems team that was involved in the making of the Adapt BB
The testing was not just restricted to players running and jumping about wearing them. The Nike self-lacing shoe was soaked in water overnight, sprayed with water cannons for 20 minutes at a time, and hammered with thousands of pounds of force in extreme conditions, after which they still gave a good performance.
“They’re tested to such an extent,” Rice said. “You know, this is one of the most tested products that Nike’s actually ever produced.”
So, these shoes are definitely ready for intense usage.
