John Kim 
Kevin Durant had quite a busy day yesterday at the launch event for his new sneaker. The superstar MVP isn’t shy at all about partaking in all the hoopla, and its this level of personal access that makes KD such a likable star with the potential to be Nike’s most successful hoops athlete. On top of the media efforts , one-on-one interviews, and photo-shoots, Durant spent some time playing some ball with the local youth at Gaullaudet University as part of his community-building Skills Academy, where he revealed some of his most useful tricks on the court. Sneaker News was there for the entire process, and caught up with KD to talk about his newest shoe.
Durant’s been around for seven shoes already, so the process of designing a sneaker isn’t new to him. But KD’s vocal nature on the outcome his shoes speaks loudest with this particular model; the arrival of Posite material on his sneakers was a request he made directly to the brand, and he revealed that he initially disagreed with the design – meaning the KD 7 could’ve been a completely different picture. We touched on those topics as well as the “Weatherman”, how DC put Foamposites on the map, and much more, so check out the interview below.
Thanks to Kevin Durant and Nike Basketball.
Photography: John Kim for Sneaker News
Above: Kevin Durant at the KD7 Launch Event at the Newseum
Sneaker News: What was your initial reaction when you first laid eyes on the KD 7?
Kevin Durant: Actually, they showed me the shoe last year, and I didn’t like it. I told Nike to try something else, but I later decided to go back to the first model I was shown. That’s just the relationship we have, me and Leo – I can tell him to scrap the whole shoe if I wasn’t happy with it. That’s the relationship I have with Nike – i’m so involved in everything and they love my input, and I got with the design and it looks great on my feet.
SN: So when you told Leo, “Hey, let’s redo the shoe”, was that difficult to do, to tell a designer that you aren’t on board with a design and to start from scratch?
KD: Nah man, that’s the relationship and friendship I have with Leo and it’s never anything personal. He’s a great designer, and sometimes a design may not work for a player, but it did for me actually. Leo actually sent me a design for a second shoe, I slept on it, and I felt like I loved the first one too much so I knew it was for me. He came through for me again.
Above: 35k Degrees, Easy Money, Global Game, Calm Before The Storm, and USA
SN: During the webcast, you mentioned that you value the fashion aspect of your sneakers more than the functional aspect. So being from DC, how important was it to have some sort of Foamposite material on your shoes?
KD: First off, function is still very important, and if it doesn’t work for me, then it doesn’t matter how good it looks. With Posite – I’ve been fighting for that for a while! That’s our culture here. If you look at the sales numbers for Foamposites, a lot comes from here, so I wanted to integrate that in my shoe and i’m glad they put it in.
Nike always listens to what I have to say, but for them, it’s all about the right timing to do certain things with my shoe as it moves forward and keeps getting better. So I proposed the idea of Posite a while ago, and they definitely surprised me with it on the KD7.
Above: Nike KD 7 Collection for kids
SN: What’s more impactful for you – the “DC” aspect of your shoe, or the “Weatherman” identity?
KD: For sure, the DC aspect. I can’t forget where I came from, and this place molded me to what I am – culturally, emotionally, physically, everything, you know. So i just wanted to give back and let people know where I come from, and it’s even more important that the kids get to experience it too. The Weatherman thing is cool and all, but DC is what I am.
SN: So what’s your opinion on the whole “Weatherman” personality that you’ve become? It started from one special colorway, but here today, it’s dictating the theme of the whole event. Did you think it would turn out to be significant?
KD: It’s pretty amazing. I think the Weatherman theme is going to last for a while. The Weatherman series, the Aunt Pearl series, the N7 series, we’ve got these different things happening and i’m happy with all of them, but the Weatherman might be my personal favorite. But the best thing about it all is just the anticipation, because I know everyone’s looking forward to what the next Aunt Pearl or N7 is, but so am I. I’m always asking “what do the next Aunt Pearl’s look like” (laughs).
