Kawhi Leonard Shows Off His Skate Expertise With Tiago Lemos And New Balance

Kawhi Leonard is a fun guy; one whose interests extend well beyond the game of basketball. Honing in on one of his lesser-known talents, New Balance has crafted a special capsule highlighting Kawhi as well as and Numeric skateboarder Tiago Lemos. For our purposes, the highlight is a skate-minded take on the Kawhi 4.

For a guy known as one of the best hoopers of the modern era, you might be surprised to learn Kawhi actually has some skateboarding steez. A natural result of having grown up in Southern California in the 1990s and early 2000s, The Klaw used to skate around with friends in school parking lots and the like, citing star jumps, kickflips, and hardflips as some of his go-to tricks.

As for the shoe itself, skate-minded hallmarks shine through clear as day. The paneling up top is drastically different from every other Kawhi 4 to date, with separate instances of leather, suede, and TPU settling on the quarter in lieu of the standard, sleeker construction. New Balance also brings red, white, and blue accents to the forefoot and heel, metallic silver “N” branding to the quarter, and gum soles underfoot in a fitting skate-friendly choice. Aesthetically speaking, the shoe taps into the same “dad shoe” essence we saw on the Grey Day Kawhi 4, with that shoe also having introduced new tooling. The decisions executed here make for a more board-worthy wear than your average Kawhi 4, but keep in mind that it’s still a basketball shoe at the end of the day.

The skate-inspired Kawhi 4 Tiago Lemos will release via New Balance on September 27th for $160 in unisex sizing. See official images below and take advantage of the purchase links in our “Where To Buy” section when the time comes.

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