Aaron Hope 
At the time of Penny Hardaway’s NBA rookie season, the dominant trends in sneaker coloring all tended toward high contrast. From the Chicago Bulls black and red to the Michigan Wolverines navy and maize and even newfangled palettes like the grape-y Charlotte Hornets, the basketball world revolved around distinct color separation. And while the uniforms both fit and breathe better these days, team colors are still uniformly more like battle flags than fashion statements. Sneakers, on the other hand, have evolved to the point where even some of the most technical performance machines display the kind of subtlety perfected in the lifestyle market.
So if Penny were still a young Orlando Magic point guard, he might show up in something like this ‘Memphis Blues’ colorway of the Nike Zoom Rookie LWP that reminds us Hardaway’s hometown college also rocks a blue-based look. They’ve got the tonal look down pat and a translucent outsole punctuates the Foamposite elements in a way that makes you wonder how a tonal Foamposite One or Pro might look. Those might be a way off, and this ‘Memphis Blues’ Zoom Rookie has us still awaiting an official release date, so stick with Sneaker News for updates and check out some new images in the meantime. Photos: Hupu
