In selecting the Sneaker News Blogs: Best of WDYWT, the staff does its best to gather the twenty best from the week focusing on diversity, great pictures, and the rarity factor. It just so happens that ‘basketball’ was a recurring theme for this week’s best picks, because we have some great basketball-born sneakers from beginning to end. We’ve got some great rare gems like the Air Bakin’ ‘Air’ edition, which was pulled from shelves, a HWC colorway of the LeBron VII, and the uber-rare Air Flightposite 1 Carbon Fiber. Even Hakeem Olajuwon makes an appearance, so check out the Top 20 below and vote for your favorite at the very end.

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Say you were going to write a script for a basketball movie and you needed an ending for the ages.  How about a guy singlehandedly ripping the hearts out of an entire state while his Top 50 teammate struggles to get up and down the court?  There’s a good reason that despite the fact it was only worn in a handful of games, the Air Jordan XIV, and specifically the ‘Last Shot’ colorway is so strongly associated with Michael Jordan’s legacy of excellence.  MJ’s ankle-break of Bryon Russell en route to a sixth ring is the kind of thing you wouldn’t even believe if it were on the silver screen, but here in a few months you’ll be able to put a tangible reminder right on your feet.  Click through to see more angles of the ‘Last Shot’ Air Jordan 14s and if you can’t wait until the December release, grab a pair early from RMK.

Air Jordan XIV
Black/Black-Varsity Red
311832-010
12/17/11
$160

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The Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 has officially arrived, and we’ve already been treated to a handful of special colorways of this newest episode in the Nike Basketball saga. From the earth-shattering Blake Griffin PE’s to the New York inspired colorways, there has been no shortage of unique releases for these. Well add this ‘Lithuania’ colorway to that list, a sneaker being released in conjunction with the EuroBasket 2011 tournament taking place there right now. The colorway echoes the Lithuanian flag, utilizing the signature red, yellow, and green. Like the Air Jordan V Quai 54 before it, this tournament specific release will no doubt be getting rocked on the court during the event. Hit the jump for a full look at the Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 ‘Lithuania’ and look for them on the feet of the Lithuanian squad.

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Sometimes you just can’t get enough, can you? Check out this latest Nike Air Force 1 Bespoke creation designed by Jean Baptiste Salaun; it’s his third Bespoke to date (that’s roughly $2,500, folks), and he’s come up with quite the earthy, nature-inspired look, combining brown and grass green suede with khaki hemp and black waxed hemp on the toe-box. Whatever the true theme behind Salaun’s third Bespoke is only known to him and the Bespoke specialists over at 21 Mercer, but at the very least, the direction he chose is quite clear. Continue reading for a detailed gallery at this latest Nike Air Force 1 Bespoke and let us know what you think of the design.

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Pictures of the hotly anticipated Nike SB Dunk High ‘Plum’ have been floating around for what seems like forever now, but it looks like they are finally making their way to Nike SB accounts. What immediately stands out on this pair of Dunks is the top-notch suede that wraps the upper in the tonal shades of daybreak and plum. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a colorway this clean with such great execution on the material selection, so hats off to Nike SB for this one. Rumors have these pinned as a Quickstrike release, so you may have to put in some work for the Nike SB Dunk High ‘Plum’, but judging by these latest photos it will be well worth it. Hit the jump for a full look at the Plums, which are beginning to pop up at spots like Premier.

Nike Dunk High Pro SB
Daybreak/Barn-Plum
313171-500

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Last week Sneaker News gave you a look at the Nike Zoom Kobe VI ‘Think Pink’, the latest in Nike’s charitable capsule benefiting the Kay Yow Breast Cancer fund. Here we have a second look at the upcoming release, which featured the signature tonal pink colorway and the breast cancer ribbon located on the heel of the shoe. These are set for a drop this Saturday, August 26th on Nikestore and select Nike Basketball retailers, and now you can add Nike Sportswear at 21 Mercer to that list of available purchase points. Take a look below and let us know if you have plans on adding these to your Kobe VI collection and stick with Sneaker News for more Kobe VI information and updates.

Nike Zoom Kobe VI
Pinkfire/White-Metallic Silver
429659-601
08/26/11
$130

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So the Pittsburgh Pirates have fallen back down to Earth, winning roughly one out of three games since the All-Star Break. If there’s any saving grave from the Pirates’ second-half stumbles, it’s Ronny Cedeno’s Nike Zoom Kobe V Cleats. The Pittsburgh short-stop has been rocking Home and Away PEs of the Kobe V since late June and today we’ll take a look back at his curious selection of kicks. Will he break out a Kobe VI Cleat later this season? Check out Cedeno’s Kobe V Cleats after the jump and let us know if you think there should be a LeBron 8 Cleat PE! via Yahoo!.

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The 2011 U.S. Open is set to kick off next Monday, August 29th, and Nike Tennis athlete Rafael Nadal is prepped for the final leg of the 2011 Grand Slam with his Nike Air Max Courtballistec 3.3. Rafa will certainly look to repeat as U.S. Open champion in 2011, but this time, he won’t have the #1 ranking; he relinquished that top spot to Novak Djokovic, but Nadal, who is now ranked #2, will surely meet him in the Championship round for a match-up of epic proportions. The Air Max Courtballistec 3.3 boasts a wide array of top-flight Nike tech, like springy yet responsive Lunarlon cushioning, Max Air heel comfort, and lock-down fit thanks to the off-center lacing, so expect Nadal to be in good hands when he takes the court next week. Nikestore has a number of colorways of the Air Max Courtballistec 3.3. available now so head there to get yours and let us know if you Nadal has what it takes to regain the #1 spot and repeat as U.S. Open champ!

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adidas Basketball’s marquee athlete Derrick Rose wrapped up one of most successful campaigns ever for a third-year NBA pro. He took the Chicago Bulls to a league’s best 62 wins while earning the MVP award and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Like their Nike counterparts, adidas sent its top basketball athletes to China this summer to represent the brand and share their talents with the basketball-crazed country, and recently, adidas dropped a limited run of the adidas adiZero Rose 2.0 ‘Windy City Rose’ edition – a Black/Red colorway with a minor splash of aqua blue on the upper and on the shoelaces. The adiZero Rose 2.0 boasts some dope insoles – the right depicting the Chicago transit map and the other showing the flight info display (only Chicago is cleared for flight). Check out the detailed images of the adidas adiZero Rose 2.0 ‘Windy City Rose’ after the jump and let us know what you think of this sweet special edition colorway of Rose’s second signature shoe. via us10.

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The Batman vs. Joker theme is one of the more popular subplots of the Nike Zoom Kobe line thanks to the wide popularity of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight renditions on the big screen. While we haven’t seen a Dark Knight Kobe VI yet, these could very well be the counterpart to the Zoom Kobe VI ‘Chaos’ that dropped just a few months ago; it features a Black upper with blue accents on the upper with a red Kobe Shozoku logo – a similar color combination to the Nike Zoom Kobe V Dark Knight version. Continue reading for a detailed look at this brand new Kobe VI colorway and let us know if you think this version of the Dark Knight is better than the Kobe V version. via air-randy.

Nike Zoom Kobe VI
429659-016

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Tinker Hatfield said it best when he mentioned finding inspiration in the most unexpected of places. For example, the classic safari print from the Nike Air Safari was inspired by an old ostrich-skin leather couch Hatfield spotted in a vintage furniture store. Of course, the couch-turned-safari folktale is just one of the many interesting stories that can be told (considering there are just as many sneaker designs), so Complex just compiled a list of the 30 ‘coolest’ sneaker inspirations. The Air Max 95, for instance, was modeled after the human body, and Puma Clyde was taken after Clyde’s intangible (yet clearly visible) ‘swag’. Check out some of the ‘coolest’ sneaker inspirations below and hit up Complex for the full feature.

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Polygonal designs on the toeof a Hyperdunk; haven’t we seen that before?  Indeed we have, but it might have been a bit more difficult for you to find without an immediate memory of the fact the ‘Hyperdunk 2009′ was called the Hyperize.  The Playoff Pack edition was actually an Air Max Hyperize, so with all these little shifts, it’s fitting that the next geo-toed release is ready to go just before the (scheduled) start of the NBA season.  The Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 ‘Geometric Pack’ consists of six Quickstrikes with colors borrowed from teams in big cities and small, LA getting two of the set but joined by small markets like San Antonio and Memphis.  Click through to get a better look at each pair and stick with Sneaker News for updates on the US release date because they’re available now from Hong Kong’s Kix-files.

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