words & images // Nick DePaula:
Since 2011, the Crazy Light franchise has long been a featured flagship sneaker for adidas Basketball, helping to reset the category and shift perception of how the category creates hoop sneakers.
For the 6th edition this past fall, the concept early on, as the name would of course imply, was pretty straightforward: Create a shoe that’s “crazy light” and can provide cushioning and control for the game’s quickest players and floor generals. James Harden, Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Lowry had been the key NBA athletes wearing the shoe in recent years, and with Harden moving into his debut signature shoe and Wiggins adopting the new Crazy Explosive, that’s left All-Star starter Lowry to lead the Crazylight franchise from up north.
The 2016 version features full-length Boost foam cushioning for the first time, along with a woven upper and several molded support pieces along the forefoot and heel. In Lowry’s case, he was able to layer in some additional storytelling for his own player exclusive pairs, with the help of the adidas product team.
“We’re always looking to tell our guys’ stories in a meaningful way, and Spencer Wyatt and Jules Holbrook at adidas worked on the shoe from a color and athlete storytelling perspective,” says Nick Daiber, the shoe’s designer. “For Kyle, his kids are a huge part of what inspires him. When he came and talked to us, we asked him why he works so hard, and right away, he said, ‘My kids.'”
Based off of that meeting, each of Lowry’s size 13 pairs of the Crazylight Boost feature the nicknames “Kam” and “Kart” along the heel of each shoe, honoring his two sons Kameron and Karter. For home games, Lowry’s version also features a faded upper, with hues of grey moving into a white toe cap. His “KL” logo can be seen atop the tongue tab.
“For him, more than anything else, his kids are what drives him to go in and put in the work that he does,” continues Daiber. “Having their names on the shoe is really a great reminder for him when he puts the shoe on for why he’s doing what he does.”
Check out Kyle Lowry’s exact size 13 pair of the adidas Crazylight Boost 2016 below in detail, and stay tuned all week for even more #BoostWeek features.
