Nike Kobe IV

I was over on ESPN.com, when I spotted this article. Apparently Kobe Bryant is an avid soccer fan, and thought that if they can play in low tops, then so could he. So he asked Nike to make his next shoe, the Kobe IV, a low top. Check them out:
From ESPN:

"the Kobe IV is outfitted with Nike's Flywire, a performance architecture that uses Vectran, a thin and strong nylon fiber, to support the foot in the upper part of the shoe. The shoe also features LunarLite foam in the forefoot, a cushioning substance that was created in concert with NASA engineers and is used in the seats of space shuttles. Yes, this is rocket science."

The shoes weigh about 20% less than the average Nike basketball shoe, translating into more energy on the court. Kobe is not the first player to don low tops on the hardwood, but this is probably the biggest attempt to market a high performance, low top basketball shoe to the general public, and I'm sure it doesn't hurt that on of the biggest names in the game has signed off on it. The idea of fashionable basketball shoes is basically out the door, and Nike wants to change that. They hope that, since the shoes are low tops, they "will have greater crossover appeal outside of basketball." So are these the new Jordans? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Kobe is set to debut them on-court December 19 against Miami, but you can't get them in stores until February...for a cool $120.