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Head-To-Head Matchups
November 10 – Chicago at Portland – Derrick Rose vs. Damian Lillard: Damian Lillard was a strong supporter of the adidas Rose line last season. In a sense, he carried the Rose line by wearing a number of player exclusives, general releases and miadidas creations. Will he continue to wear the Rose line this season, or will he switch to the CrazyQuick and other inline adidas silhouettes this season? We don’t know what adidas has planned, but it would be nice to see Rose and Lillard battle for the first time ever in superb player exclusives.
November 22 – Minnesota at Los Angeles Lakers – Derrick Williams vs. Nick Young: This is easily one of the most entertaining matchups in the game of Kicks On Court. Derrick Williams, this past season’s Kicks On Court Champion, and Nick Young, 2012’s Kicks On Court Champion, are both extremely passionate about the shoes they wear on court. When these two Los Angeles natives collide, you can expect some appealing kicks on court.
January 25 – Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami – Kobe vs. LeBron: The Kobe vs. LeBron talk always escalates at least a week before their first meeting of the season. The ESPN stories begin rolling out, and the trash talk seems to instantly come out of nowhere. As for the shoes, Nike always benefits from this matchup (dating back to LeBron’s Cleveland games), one of the most watched basketball games of every season.
This match also begins Miami’s first West Coast swing of the season, as they also visit Sacramento, Portland and Denver. Check the archives; ‘Bron always hits the West Coast in new colorways of his signatures.
March 19 – Miami at Boston – LeBron James vs. Boston: LeBron James has a history of bringing out his best against what many deem as his toughest rival throughout his career. Twice, we’ve seen him wear suede renditions of his current signature at the time, and they were both worn in Boston.
November 1/January 10 (ESPN) – LeBron James vs. Brooklyn: It’s no secret that King James loves New York. Whenever he visits the city, he has an extra pep in his step on the court, and his feet are always one of the highlights of the game. In one of his first visits to Brooklyn last season, he debuted an all-red Nike LeBron X, which was easily one of the surprises of the season. It won’t stop there.
November 7/February 5 – Los Angeles Clippers at Miami – Chris Paul vs. LeBron James: Check the history between these two good friends; whenever they face off, new player exclusives are debuted. We’ll get a faceoff of new player exclusives between these two early in the season and again right before the 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend. The second matchup is also the start of Miami’s second West Coast swing of the season, in which they trek to Utah, Phoenix and Golden State, so be on the lookout for a number of new exclusives from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade during this stretch.
January 29/February 20 – Miami vs. Oklahoma City – LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant: While not yet on the scale of the Kobe vs. LeBron faceoff, the Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James battle is quickly becoming one of the most watched games of the season. It’s also a sneaker war, as both sides seem to debut new colorways against each other. In their matchup right before 2013 All-Star Weekend, Durant and LeBron unveiled the “Aunt Pearl” KD V and an all-red suede LeBron X, respectively, on court.
December 13 – Minnesota vs. San Antonio (Live from Mexico) – Derrick Williams: The setting of this matchup is more intriguing than the actual game itself. Why? It will be held in Mexico, and there’s no telling what Derrick Williams, the reigning Kicks On Court Champion, will pull out for this game. He, like Nick Young and Nate Robinson, likes to theme his shoes around certain players, settings and games; plus, he’s already let it be known that this is the year of OGs for him.
