Kawhi Leonard wore his first signature shoe in NBA All-Star 2019

One of the best time to launch a basketball signature shoe is during the NBA All-Star Weekend and New Balance was able to do that this weekend by introducing Kawhi Leonard's first signature shoe, the New Balance OMN1S. There isn't an official information yet on the shoe's tech specs, but let's just try to make a run down on the obvious things that we know based on the images. First, it features a combination of textile (predominantly) with some leather panels which we could see on the ankle collar. A good way of bridging the brands rich heritage of classic silhouettes and today's trend but still making it modern and functional. While it looks like it isn't a stretchy knit material, what it does is give a thicker upper material which could be beneficial if you are looking for a sturdier material but don't need a lot of break-in time. The leather panels in the collar area gives some structure without adding too much weight. The cushion is made up of New Balance's Fuel Cell which is a responsive foam. They are using the foam in some of their running shoes so I'm guessing that they just tweaked it a little to be used for basketball performance. In the midfoot, there is a strap that run across which would provide you with midfoot containment. I am not really sure if there is a way to somewhat customize it since it might be too restricting to some wearers with big feet so we'll just have to wait some time to actually see it and inspect it more. Lastly, underneath is a blade-like traction pattern which is multi-directional and I think depending on the colorway, it will feature either a solid or translucent rubber. I am definitely excited to see what New Balance basketball has to offer and this would definitely be on the list of shoes that I will be doing a performance review once it is available. No official word yet when this will drop in the Philippines so we'll have to wait for official announcement and price/availability information. But for now, why don't you share your thoughts on the New Balance OMN1S down the comment section.   

Via: New Balance