This latest retro basketball release from Nike Sportswear carries with two distinct subplots.  On one hand, there’s plenty of chatter about the $225 MSRP on the Nike Total Air Foamposite Max in Metallic Silver, which, despite being in line with the model’s $180 original sticker price, has some wondering where the new ceiling will be (LeBron 9 Elite, anyone?).  The other line of discussion on these is more of the typical NSW fare, as the fact that these were Tim Duncan’s signature in his second NBA season and first championship run in the lockout-shortened 1999 season will remind fans how The Big Fundamental rose to take over the San Antonio Spurs’ reigns from long-time Nike Basketball signee David Robinson, and begs the question how long Duncan (with adidas for several years now) can hold on to his elite status.  It’s curious how times change and yet this model is still aesthetically ahead of the curve, and that’s sure to draw a ton of attention when they drop at select retailers like Millennium Shoes on Friday, September 30th.

Nike Total Air Foamposite Max
Metallic Silver/Black-Photo Blue
472498-040
09/30/11
$225

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It’s been an awesome stretch run for the Air Jordan XIII, beginning with the Premio release last year and ending with the sick Ray Allen PE that dropped in uber-limited numbers not long ago. Although we’ve had our fill of Air Jordan XIII releases to last us for a while, here’s a look at an unreleased promo sample made just for Michael Jordan – the tonal-white Silver Anniversary colorway that was part of the ‘traveling’ Silver Anniversary Air Jordan showcase that made its rounds in 2010. These Air Jordan XIIIs feature a full leather construction with metallic silver on the traction pods on the outsole with a silver trim on the upper logo detailing. Now that the 25th Anniversary of the Air Jordan shoe has passed, a release of any of these tonal-white Silver Anniversary colorway will likely not happen, so take a good look at this rare promo sample below and let us know what you think. via DaClosetCollector.

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Big sneaker releases don’t typically last for more than 30 minutes, but for the most publicly marketed ‘limited’ sneaker release of all time, Nike stretched it out a full ten days. Before we get down to the fun facts and number-crunching of all the bidding and auctions, let’s explore for one final time the far-reaching impactful grasp of the Nike Mag 2011. As Michael J. Fox explained to the millions of viewers during his interview with David Letterman, the Nike Mag 2011 auctions would bring out not only the sneakerhead community, but the Back To The Future fanatics as well as those in the Parkinson’s community. News of the Nike Mag 2011 was reported not only on sneaker sites, but on tech/gadget, pop-culture, and movie blogs, and were featured on a number of news programs across the nation, and very quickly, the Nike Mag 2011 established itself as one of the most memorably pop-culture virals of the year.

The Nike Mag 2011 auctions started off with a bang when U.K. hip-hop artist Tinie Tempah concluded the first live auction in Hollywood, CA by paying $37,500 for the shoes and the limited edition packaging. As expected the opening night of bids brought on the most bids as well as the most cash flow, with 5,389 bids and $911,927.34 in dollars raised for charity. As the auctions rolled on, the excitement began to settle and those who were serious about acquiring a pair of the Nike Mags employed a bid of auction bidding strategy, waiting for the proper days to maximize their dollar. The sixth day brought on the least amount of bids with a total of 3,117, and the seventh day brought on the least amount of dollars with a total of $488,076.90. The data further shows that the number of bids and dollars rose considerable during final two days of auction, as the panic of ‘missing out’ began to seep in. Unfortunately, we’re all ‘outta time’ for the auctions, but if you want to see all the data, we’ve got all of that for you below, courtesy of Mugen on NT. Thanks to RetroKid for the heads up.

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It was just last week that Sneaker News showed you an up close and personal look at a pair of Air Jordan XII player exclusives designed for Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Joe Johnson, so after having already seen one of Melo’s many PE XIIs a couple months back, now let’s turn our attention to another Jordan Brand baller who got a special pair of his own.  This Air Jordan XII Dwyane Wade PE was spotted on Agent D3′s feet in early 2010 after leaving Converse to sign with the Jumpman, their red-on-white look a direct takeoff on Michael Jordan’s 1996-97 regular season away defaults.  Check out more photos after the jump and let us know whose Air Jordan 12s are the best.  via SoleFly

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The Nike Air Foamposite One is commonly referred to as a Penny Hardaway signature shoe despite it not being an official member of the Nike Air Penny line. We all remember Mike Bibby wear them at Arizona, and it was Penny himself who spotted the Foams during a meeting with Nike reps, instantly falling in love with the shoe and immortalizing it in the sneaker sub-culture archives. As part of Sole Collector’s collaboration with Nike Sportswear, Nike will release this limited edition colorway of the Nike Air Foamposite One in a quintessential yet never-been-done Orlando colorway of the shoe; it’s got a solid black upper with the keynote translucent outsole, a bold varsity royal lace-placket and laces, and a dirty copper 1-Cent badge on the tongue. The shoes will be part of the SC x NSW x Penny Hardaway Signature Pack that will release at a special Nike Zoom Rookie LWP release event at Nike Las Vegas this Saturday. Continue reading for detailed images and let us know what you think! via air-randyhk.

Nike Air Foamposite One
314996-094

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LeBron James didn’t decide to become a New York Knick during his epic free agency summer of 2010, but who cares the inspiration for a sneaker’s colorway when it looks this good?!  The royal and orange Nike LeBron 9 pictured above is the latest ‘China’ edition in King James’ Nike Basketball signature series, a model that along with the Dolphins-leaning colorway and Miami Hurricanes PEs has people seeing the Nines in a whole new light.  LeBron’s career has been on something of an emotional roller coaster over the past few years so it’s fitting that his new kicks follow suit in the public opinion; is it safe to say the LeBron 9 is on track to be one of the most popular designs of the next twelve-plus months?  Have a look at the first full-on images of the LeBron 9 ‘China’ and stick with Sneaker News for more photos and the release date.  via lupecci on NT

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From a Jordan Brand hybrid we expect later in 2011 to one of the biggest retro releases confirmed for next year, here’s a look at the Air Jordan X Retro ‘Chicago’.  This model gets its name from the home colorway on a model year that saw colorways issued to match a series of NBA teams (also referred to by their respective cities).  Sample images of these joints had featured the classic mid’90s handstyle ’23′ and ’45′ embroidery in alternate versions; is this pristine white leather final result better than the ‘period piece’ look?  Decide for yourself after looking at more images after the jump and stick with Sneaker News for the exact Air Jordan 10 ‘Chicago’ release date, currently slated for January ’12.  via Air-Randy

Air Jordan X Retro ‘Chicago’
White/Black-Varsity Red
310805-100
01/2012

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The only thing resembling criticism we’ve seen on the New York Knicks-inspired pairs of Jordan Spiz’ikes that Spike Lee himself showed off months ago as a presumed exclusive, is that the blue nubuck pair could maybe do with a bit of extra orange to even out the Big Apple colorway.  Well, how’s this for some more orange?!  Built with more leather and just a hint of nubuck along the mudguard area, this orange Spizike is blocked identically to the blue joints, yet feels like a harder contrast and would probably do well with a release date around the end of October.  The official drop isn’t set in stone as of yet, but we’d expect these as a Holiday 2011 release, which means you better take an extra job wrapping presents or something to make sure you can get all the goodies on tap for what’s looking like the most quality-rich Christmas season a sneakerhead’s ever seen.  Have a look at more shots of these orange Knicks Spiz’ikes and let us know whether you’ll be getting these, the blue joints or both.  via Air-Randy

Jordan Spiz’ike
315371-805

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Each year since the Doernbecher Freestyle program kicked off, we’ve been treated to an Air Jordan Retro offering in the yearly batch of releases. People have now been speculating for a while that this time around, it would be the Air Jordan IV to receive the Doernbecher treatment, and sure enough, here we have our first look. The DB edition of the Air Jordan IV takes the shoe to places it’s never been with a bold black/royal/bright green color scheme further stylized by some graphic patterns and illustrations, as well as a Superman logo on the tongues. Expect info on the artist and specific inspirations coming soon, but for now, take a look at a nice gallery of pics after the jump and let us know what you think. via Air-Randy

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In November of 2006, Jordan Brand pried Chris Paul away from the hands of Nike Basketball and quickly offered the elite point guard a signature shoe deal. Today, four Jordan CP3 installments have been completed, but during that five-year ride, Chris Paul wore some sick Air Jordan PEs in-game, like this luxurious Air Jordan XX3 Player Exclusive. Something about the ornate stitching on the upper of the Air Jordan XX3 matches well with the festive Mardi Gras theme we often associated with the city of New Orleans, and fashioned in teal and gold makes ‘em look that much better. What makes this PE even better is CP3′s Jordan Brand logo stitched on the padded ankle. A game-worn Air Jordan XX3 PE just popped for sale so check out the detailed shots below and pick up this piece of Air Jordan memorabilia from arturo420 on eBay.

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The sneaker scene across the Atlantic compared to that of the states is like night and day. However, the sneaker game could shift into Euro-gear thanks to the push of retro releases of classic runners like the Asics Gel Saga, Nike Air Flow, Saucony Grid 9000, and more. Afew (formerly Schuh-You), in conjunction with Sneaker Freaker, will host the Afew Vintage Gallery and Sale, showcasing over 300 pairs of the finest 80′s and 90′s vintage sneakers that have paved the way to the current state of the footwear game – an indubitable truth regardless of what your sneaker niche is. Check out the teaser video below for a taste of what sort of vintage heat will be available for viewing, and if you’re going to be in that region of the globe, be sure to note all the event details in the flyer below.

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Ever since Nike dropped the Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 and never looked back the frequency of releases has been a bit, well hyper. We’ve already seen PE’s, packs, and team colorways and while edition pictured above doesn’t appear to have any special semblance, you can add it to the long list of options you have to choose from for the Nike Zoom Hyperfuse 2011. The sleek colorway mixes grey and black on the upper, with a brilliant silver swoosh across the midsection of the shoe. The outsole and ankle padding bring the blue for a bit of color. Take a full look at them after the jump a snag a pair now from Passover before they officially hit the US.

Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011
454138-002

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