Adidas announces James Harden's new signature shoe
With the Harden Vol. 3 adidas and Houston Rockets' star James Harden have combined The Beard's sense of style and his unparalleled ability to create space on the court into a sleek, comfortable shoe.Get more news about
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After the success Harden had with the Vol. 2, the MVP wanted to make sure he had the right shoes on his feet for his follow up performance this season. Rashad Williams, the Senior Director of Basketball Footwear at Adidas, says the entire process of creating for the Vol. 3 was the longest and most challenging of any of the previous Harden shoes."[Harden] wanted to make sure that he had enough time in this shoe to ensure it came to market in its best form," Williams said. "He asked to get this shoe on his feet a lot earlier than what we traditionally do. One of the things I love about him is that he is a true baller; he really wants to do his best and represent his team. I can appreciate him wanting to get perfection on his shoe."
Williams says Harden wanted to start trying out the shoe almost a year and a half earlier, to ensure is delivered where it mattered most: performance...and since we're talking James Harden it also had to have "swag."
"He always says, 'hey bro, does it have swag?" Williams said. "We went through four rounds of the shoe were James was just, 'nope, that's not it.' It needed to look like a shoe you could ball in and we went through about four rounds before he felt it was in a good zone for him."
Any performance shoe made for James Harden has to start with his step back, Euro step, and cross over. With his previous shoes, adidas had already gathered a lot of data to create footwear that would make it easier for Harden to break ankles. For the Vol. 3, the team needed to take it another step forward, so they dug even deeper into his performance data.
"We realized that James is one of the fastest in the NBA at slowing down," Williams said. "Harden will always say he isn't the biggest, not the fastest and not the strongest...but his ability to slow down actually makes him one of the fastest players in the league. He can keep his opponents off balance which allows him to create all the space he needs to get his shot off."Williams says off all the players with adidas, Harden plays on his forefoot the most, so figuring out the best way to create better lockdown was very important. The solution was a lace band across the upper.
Everything about the Vol. 3 is geared towards highlighting and elevating Harden's agility. The press release announcing the shoe says it right at the top, "slow down fast."
"Slow down fast doesn't make sense, but my game doesn't make sense," Harden says in the press release. "I don't think you've ever seen anyone play this way. Every year I try to figure out a way to create an advantage and creating space is, I think, one of the biggest parts of the game of basketball."
The idea of "creating space" is actually where the names for the first two colorways of Vol. 3 come from. The silver colorway is called "Voyager" and is meant to embody "Harden's voyage to bring a championship to Houston." The black colorway, "Cosmos," is a nod to how he "keeps defenders lost in space."
Adidas announces James Harden's new signature shoe
