All sneaker illustrations by Erin Kelly (@erinkelly_)
Nike released an Elite Basketball collection today for LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant, which are based off of "Heroes." You know, superheroes. As energetic and crime-stopping as the sneakers look, they're not actually based off of real superheroes.
For all the comic book nerds out there, we took actual superheroes—Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, etc.—and applied their trademark color schemes to the Nike Kobe 9 Elite, Nike KD VI Elite, and the Nike LeBron XI Elite. Because, deep down inside, that's what we wanted out of the collection. But we know, with licensing issues and all, this would be almost impossible. This is what we came up with.
Grab your cape, stop a speeding train, and pray that Nike releases these pairs. Here's Imagining What the Nike Basketball "Hero" Collection Should've Looked Like.
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Nike LeBron XI Elite "Spider-Man"
Sneaker: Nike LeBron XI Elite
Inspired By: Spider-Man
Nike Kobe 9 Elite "The Human Torch"
Sneaker: Nike Kobe 9 Elite
Inspired By: The Human Torch
Nike KD VI Elite "The Flash"
Sneaker: Nike KD VI Elite
Inspired By: The Flash
Nike Kobe 9 Elite "Hulk"
Sneaker: Nike Kobe 9 Elite
Inspired By: The Incredible Hulk
Nike LeBron XI Elite "Iron Man"
Sneaker: Nike LeBron XI Elite
Inspired By: Iron Man
Nike KD VI Elite "Superman"
Sneaker: Nike KD VI Elite
Inspired By: Superman
Nike LeBron XI Elite "Captain America"
Sneaker: Nike LeBron XI Elite
Inspired By: Captain America
Nike KD VI Elite "Green Lantern"
Sneaker: Nike KD VI Elite
Inspired By: Green Lantern
Nike Kobe 9 Elite "Batman"
Sneaker: Nike Kobe 9 Elite
Inspired By: Batman