As we all know, streetball is nothing less than a ritual throughout the United States, let alone the entire world, year in and year out. Each summer, Jordan Brand releases multiple outdoor sneakers exclusively designed for the rigors of the outdoor playgrounds. One of the outdoor designs created for this summer season is this Jordan Element. Although we first spotted this particular sneaker on Ray Allen’s feet towards the end of the 2008-09 NBA, many sneaker enthusiasts really took a liking towards it upon seeing it as a part of the Quai 54 x Air Jordan “Ruff & Tuff” Pack. We put the Jordan Element through indoor and outdoor performance tests to see how it could handle both elements of play. Click here to see how Jordan Element performed.

Jordan Element Performance Review

Strengths: The Jordan Element is nothing less than ideal for the outdoor basketball game. Although it also performed rather nicely on the hardwood, this particular sneaker would be a nice pickup for one that plays outdoor the majority of the time. The first thing that sticks out on this shoe is its extreme traction. When making quick, deceptive moves, the Jordan Element allows one to stabilize balance at the same time. Recovery time is a must when playing on outdoor surfaces; therefore, traction is a need. Another advantage the Jordan Element provides the player with is its cushioning. There is nothing better than a comfortable-fitting sneaker when playing outside on rugged surfaces. The Jordan Element also possesses a lightweight capacity which is not often associated with outdoor-ready basketball shoes.

Weaknesses: Although the Jordan Element possesses a lightweight capacity, its external bulkiness goes against the grain from most basketball shoes that have recently released. For this reason, one’s vertical and lateral response seems to be very limited at times. It feels as if the sneaker and the foot are not in unison consistently when making sharp moves. In addition, seeing that this shoes cannot totally be categorized as a high-top nor a low cut sneaker, the ankle support is not as secure as other sneakers. With that said, we all know how important ankle support is when playing outside (Think Rucker Park Games).

Overall, the Jordan Element is a solid, durable sneaker that can be worn over and over again on the outdoor courts. Its  trifecta of durability, traction and cushioning provides the player with unique advantages. At a first glance, what are your thoughts on the Jordan Element?

If Drake has enough buzz to sell blank discs, then the sneaker equivalent has to be Jeff Staple selling Airwalks. The fruits of labor from the partnership of Staple Design and Airwalk, that has had the sneaker community buzzing for a number of months now, has finally ripened. The double labeled kicks have started to arrive at Payless Shoe Stores, is anyone lined up?   As someone who grew up in the era that saw the pinnacle of Airwalk’s popularity, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see someone like Jeff lend a hand to the struggling footwear company. Aside from those feelings, I admire Staple for stepping outside the cultural glass box that seems to restrain the creativity of so many people in the streetwear and sneaker industries. I’ve never had any doubts in his abilities to succeed in this partnership. I can also completely understand why Airwalk was the perfect fit, the challenge.

It makes perfect sense, Jeff, like most of us in the age group, was most likely a fan of Airwalk’s growing up. So first off, there is a personal connection. Secondly, when you have accomplished what Jeff has in this industry, sticking with the norm becomes tiring to say the least. Not there is anything wrong with sticking with what works, but there is a lack of gratification when it comes to repetition. The challenge of making Airwalk into a successful brand again, regardless of whether it is sold in Payless stores, or the highest of high-end boutiques, would be equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest in those very Airwalk shoes.

With the shoes releasing at a price point of $50 and under, Jeff accomplishes two things. He makes them attainable to the masses, which is essential in an economy like this. In addition, the price point is right at that spot where, if quality is up to par, sneakerheads will likely consider it an option. It’s not too cheap, i.e. Starbury’s and Protege, yet it’s not at the typical Staple Design prices. Add to these points, the marketing power of Staple to have Airwalks in the USA Today with prime placement, the buzz created by Jeff merely announcing the partnership, and success is eminent.

Daps to Jeff for going against the grain, and to others immersed in the culture, a simple reminder: If you allow the cultural glass box to exist, it will inevitably suffocate you.

Today, Nice Kicks is proud to announce the official release of the Nice Kicks iPhone App.

Many of you access Nice Kicks from your phones, so we wanted to create an even easier way to navigate through the site while keeping you up to date with the latest sneaker news. The Nice Kicks App features push notification so that you will receive an alert as soon as news is posted keeping you up to date around the clock.

To thank our readers for the years of support, we have listed the Nice Kicks App in the App Store free of charge for the next week.

Click here to download the new Nice Kicks App to your iPhone or iPod Touch!  Check out the screenshots after the jump.

Nice Kicks iPhone App

Nice Kicks iPhone App

Nice Kicks iPhone App

In our previous Sneaker Geeks features, we randomly brainstormed interesting themes to focus on; however, this edition of Sneaker Geeks was inspired by a recent historic event. Yesterday, July 20th, 2009, marked the 40th Anniversary of the United States’ landing on the moon. With that said, we dug into the archives and gathered various Space/Lunar inspired sneakers to complete the fifth installment of our Sneaker Geeks feature. Click here to begin viewing our 9 Best Space/Lunar inspired sneakers to date. In case you missed it: 10 of the Best Vacation/Destination Inspired Sneakers HERE. 12 of the Best Cartoon Inspired Sneakers HERE. 10 of the Best Video Game/Gaming System Inspired Sneakers HERE. 11 of the Best Movie Inspired Sneakers HERE.

#9 - Nike Big Nike “Space City”

“Houston, we have a problem.” Many of you have heard those words used on many occasions, yet, you do not know the origin in which they came from. The origin and this Nike Big Nike’s inspiration both come from NASA Johnson’s Space Center located in Houston. Its speckled outsole (resembling a star-filled sky) and its planetary ring on the heel gives the shoe an overall futuristic, out-of-space look.

Kevin Durant is rapidly becoming one of the young superstars in the NBA. Although the Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the lower ranking teams for the past two years, Durant continues to be a dominant force on the court. Along with a love for basketball, he has also shown a love for sneakers since childhood. This past season, Nike blessed Durant with his first signature sneaker ever in the form of the Nike KD1. Despite requesting that Nike create a low-budget sneaker for the most to afford, the Nike KD1 was easily one of the more well-received basketball sneakers on the market. Last week we caught up with Kevin Durant at the Gatorade Player of the Year Awards honoring the best high school athletes.  In this interview, Kevin Durant discusses who inspired him on the on and off court, what he thinks about the controversial “1 year”, and of course a number of sneaker questions you would ask him as well. Click here to view this in-depth interview in its entirety.

Matt Halfhill - Nice Kicks: At what age did you decide that you wanted to play in the NBA?

Kevin Durant: Since I was eight years old. I sat my mom down and had an eye to eye talk with her that I wanted to play basketball for a living and I wanted to be great. She pushed me from there. She didn’t give me any breaks, no time off, she made sure that I had the right people around me to help me succeed.

Nice Kicks: Besides your mom, who else pushed you to succeed at basketball?

Kevin Durant: My godfather taught me the game, my brother who was always there for me, and my grandmother who even though she didn’t know much about the game she made sure that I worked hard at everything that I did and my father as well. That was my circle that pushed me to be the best I could be.

Nice Kicks: In the NBA, who inspired you to be your best?

Kevin Durant: Vince Carter was that guy who I always looked up to. He always played with that fire and that passion and that’s what I wanted to do. He’s a great player to live up to. He has had a phenomenal career so far and he is with a new team now so its a new beginning for him again. That’s the guy I always wanted to be like. You know, I can’t jump as high as him, but I can play with that passion.

Nice Kicks: I know that right when you entered the NBA you had offers from Nike and Adidas, what was the ultimate deciding factor for you for which team to join?

Kevin Durant: You know, it was just which company was I most comfortable with. You know, I wore Nike shoes my whole basketball career. I felt most comfortable with them and I think that their shoes greatly benefit me on the court. I’m glad that I’m with Nike - it’s a great family to be apart of.

Nice Kicks: Thinking back to your younger days, was there a favorite pair of Nike shoes that you played in?

Kevin Durant: I had the old Tim Duncans, the ones with the strap like web that went across them and I had the all grey Total Max Foamposites too. I would really like to see Nike come back out with those.

Nice Kicks: When you signed with Nike, one of the first things that I heard was that you wanted your line of shoes to be affordable. How important was this to you?

Kevin Durant: This was very important to me. When I first started playing, I had to play in Shaquille O’Neal’s because my mom couldn’t afford the $100 shoes for me and my brother so I had to play in K-Mart shoes. It would have been great to play in some affordable and comfortable Nike’s, but you know it wasn’t like that back then. Now I just want to make it easier for kids coming up that like my shoes to be able to afford them. Nike did a great job helping me out with that goal of making something great that was also affordable.

Nice Kicks: Even though the Nike KD1 is one of the cheaper shoes in the Nike lineup, it still performed incredibly well. What were some benchmark standards that you want in your shoes?

Kevin Durant: I want them to be something similar in weight to the Huarache 2k4. Those were light and for guys like me who needed to be quick and guys who needed to move down the floor quicker like the guards or the power forwards, the Rashard Lewis’ or the KG’s in the game. It was very light and cushioning was on point and of course the colorway was perfect for our team. It was a great shoe.

Kevin Durant wearing the Nike KD1

Nice Kicks: What was you favorite thing about the Nike KD1?

Kevin Durant: You know, I really like that the sole had everything that I did growing up on it. Where I came from, my parents, my brother, everything that I went through to get to this point was on that shoe. It was definitely something that will stick with me forever.

Nice Kicks: We caught up with your former teammate DJ Augustin and he told us we needed to ask you about the Nike KD2.

Kevin Durant: Yeah, I have been playing in those for the past couple of months at Texas to get used to them. He said he liked them and he isn’t a really big shoe guy so that says something.

Although it may not be said publicly, there are many young players in the NBA who would jump at the chance to be a part of the Jordan Brand. While this accomplishment is far-fetched for many players, a handful of athletes are picked by Jordan himself to represent one of the biggest and most successful brands ever. With that said, we caught up with Charlotte Bobcats point guard D.J. Augustin, one of the youngest NBA players on Jordan Brand now. In this interview, Augustin shares with us a plethora of secret perks one gets for being a part of the Jordan Brand team and also tells us the process by which shoes he and the other JB members are allowed to wear on the hardwood. Click here to view this in-depth interview in its entirety.

D.J. Augustin attacking the rim in the Jordan 6 Rings “Flint”

Nice Kicks: First off, tell me how your signing with Jordan Brand came about.

D.J. Augustin: Well, you know Michael Jordan, at this point, is the co-owner of our team. He owns a certain amount of our team, and when I was in summer league before my rookie season, I was trying to decide which brand I was going to sign with out of Adidas and K1X. At that time, I didn’t even know that Jordan wanted to sign me. I played pretty good in the summer league and my agent and I were going back and forth trying to decide who I was going to sign with. One day, my agent called and said Michael Jordan wanted me on the Jordan Brand team. I couldn’t pass that up no matter how much money the others were offering.

Nice Kicks: Well, seeing that he personally wanted to sign you, do you have a personal relationship with him?

D.J. Augustin: Yeah, because it is only a certain amount of us that are with Jordan. He doesn’t just go out and get a bunch of guys, so it was special for him to pick me. He only picks a select few of players such as Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, me, Kevin Martin, Rip Hamilton to name a few. It’s a small group of dudes, so we all have a certain relationship with him and we’re all close. He’s a cool dude and he’s just like one of us.

Nice Kicks: You say he’s just like one of the players. Last year, a photo surfaced of Michael Jordan practicing with the team. What do MJ usually wear when practicing with the Charlotte Bobcats?

D.J. Augustin: One time, when he was out there shooting with us, he had on the Air Jordan 11 “Space Jams”.  Another time, he had on the Air Jordan 3 “Black Cat”. One day he had on a pair of Jordan PHLY Legends; you know his nickname is “Black Cat”, so he had “Black Cat” imprinted on the side of his PHLY Legends. He wears those a lot. Jordan comes to a lot of our practices but this year he didn’t as much. He was talking and joking with us when shooting around sometimes, but this past year he was more serious with us because it was more pressure on us to win.

Michael Jordan posting Raymond Felton up in the Jordan PHLY

Nice Kicks: Has Michael Jordan ever hinted at making the entire Charlotte Bobcats roster a Jordan sponsored team? Maybe recruiting some of your other teammates to jolt to Jordan Brand?

D.J. Augustin: No, he never really mentioned that. I don’t think he would since a lot of guys are with different shoe companies. For example, Raymond Felton is with Adidas, Raja Bell is with Nike, Boris Diaw is with Nike. We have a lot of guys that are with different companies, so I don’t think he would do that since guys are in their contracts.

Nice Kicks: Since your signing, we know Michael Jordan has slid you a couple of classic Jordan sneakers under the table, right?

D.J. Augustin: (Laughs) No, because sometimes I get shoes that don’t even come out until two months from now. I have to hide those and keep them away from my homeboys. They’ll try to steal them. So, being a part of the brand means I get a lot of exclusive shoes that don’t come out until later on; some that never come out at all. That’s a real nice perk we have, so it’s no need for Jordan to personally give us exclusives.

To read page 2 of the interview click here.