Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 11:31 am  |  61 responses

KICKS 13: On Sale Now!

Brandon Jennings and Under Armour are about to take off.

by Ben Osborne / @bosborne17brandonkicksonsale

portraits by JUCO Photo

Thirteen years in, you should know the deal: KICKS is the sneaker bible.

Getting on the cover of KICKS is much harder than getting on the cover of a SLAM. Frequency is one reason: SLAM now leads KICKS 141-13 in terms of opportunities. The other is that you can’t just be a dope, compelling ballplayer, or just have dope, compelling shoes. You need both. A good shoe “story” (as folks in the industry like to say) helps too.

Well, Brandon Jennings has got all three. You should know the background by now. In sum: turned pro out of high school, signed to Under Armour as the brand began its slow entry to the basketball market, played a year in Italy, got hated on by NBA GMs and media in the lead-up to the ’09 Draft, got taken 10th by the Bucks, dropped 55 points in his seventh NBA game, appeared on the cover of SLAM #135, led the formerly dead deer to a deciding Playoff game and the franchise’s most exciting season in years, finished (an unjust IMO) third in the Rookie of the Year voting and liveblogged this year’s Draft for us. Whew.

So what’s new? The shoes are actually coming out. Much as Brandon is on the verge of turning the potential we’ve seen since he was 15 into being a top-tier NBA PG night in and night out, Under Armour is on the verge of bringing their long-awaited product to stores.

A four-shoe line of shoes, including Brandon’s signature “Black Ice” kicks, will be on sale in November. This issue will be on newsstands this week. Besides the lengthy Brandon cover story by yours truly, there is great stuff on all the brands making noise today: adidas, AND 1, APL, Converse, Dada, Fila, Jordan Brand, Li-Ning, Nike, Reebok and more.

In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be posting more photos and videos from the cover shoot, but if you want the full Brandon Jennings/Under Armour story, as well as other great photos and writing and hundreds of hot kicks for the fall, all in one place, buy the issue!

P.S.-Two corrections on behalf of our friends at Foot Locker who helped make this issue possible. The Jordan shoe shown on pg. 82 is obviously the IX, not the XIII. And the highly awaited Nike Foamposites that are advertised on the Foot Locker poster as going on sale September 4 will actually be on sale September 3. I think the rest of the issue, from art to edit to ads, is extremely on point. Enjoy!

kickscover13big



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  • Ben Osborne Posted: Aug.16 at 11:40 am
    Might be my favorite cover line ever. Credit to Lang. Hope our young readers get it!

  • tato Posted: Aug.16 at 11:51 am
    Upps, the cover is original, i think about Wade,Lebron, Kobe or another superstar, but this is really original, excuse me for my bad english…
    thanks SLAM for this special….from méxico

  • Bigi Posted: Aug.16 at 11:52 am
    My prediction was Young Buck, Tyreke or J.Wall…and they are all on the cover…sort of…

  • Bigi Posted: Aug.16 at 11:55 am
    http://www.slamonline.com/online/kicks/2010/08/kicks-cover-archives/

  • Atrain Posted: Aug.16 at 11:58 am
    Awesome cover so dope Furious Styles? Classic

  • James Posted: Aug.16 at 12:02 pm
    Super cool cover. I hope Brandon jennings will have a good sophmore year, seeing how he struggled a bit as the 09-10 season progressed.

  • Lang Whitaker Posted: Aug.16 at 12:05 pm
    Dope.

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Aug.16 at 12:07 pm
    @Bigi: yeah, I almost linked to that post and discussion. I loved all the guesses and thought it was cool that people (you included) had Brandon as an option. Like I said over there, KD was never really an option for this cover because of his covering our World Hoops issue.

  • niQ Posted: Aug.16 at 12:19 pm
    I don’t know if its some firewall issues but I can never see the pictures, here and in the actual kicks of the day pictures.

  • moneymellz Posted: Aug.16 at 1:13 pm
    I think young buck cud be good but not as good as I see some other risin pgs in ghe L..I think guys like reke,rose,westbrook,rondo,curry,and even wall will all be betta then him..but he will have a solid career

  • Young C Posted: Aug.16 at 1:18 pm
    Yessir!

  • PG Posted: Aug.16 at 2:13 pm
    I’m just glad it wasn’t John Wall!!

  • Matt Lawyue Posted: Aug.16 at 2:59 pm
    Love it.

  • snuff Posted: Aug.16 at 3:50 pm
    nice cover. the background and kicks logo colors are reminiscent of melo’s slam cover last year. but still awesome…

  • clutch23 Posted: Aug.16 at 4:23 pm
    Shoes look awesome putting it on my Christmas list

  • c_cantrell Posted: Aug.16 at 4:31 pm
    dope man.. jus dope.. i love bjennings game.. one of my fav players.. good job slam

  • SLAM Presents KICKS 13 – On Sale Now | COUNTER KICKS Posted: Aug.16 at 5:23 pm
    [...] the Under Armour Micro G Black Ice. Sketches and multiple colorways of the shoe can be seen in SLAM Editor-in-Chief Ben Osborne’s KICKS cover story. Also featured in the issue are pieces on adidas, AND1, Athletic Propulsion Labs, Converse, Dada, [...]

  • Brandon Jennings Debuts Under Armour Black Ice on Cover of KICKS 13 | NiceKicks.com Posted: Aug.16 at 6:00 pm
    [...] cover finds BJ in a pair of his first official signature, the Under Armour Black Ice. According to SLAM four Under Armour basketball shoes, Black Ice included, will release this November. Kicks 13 is on [...]

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Aug.16 at 6:13 pm
    YoungMoney unlike that f*g Ricky “Martin” Rubio was unafraid of the league and didn’t care about playing in a big media market. I commend BJennings on that and a BIG fu*k u to that spanish broad.

  • Bigi Posted: Aug.16 at 6:32 pm
    JTaylor why you so mad/ try to understand he (Rubio) didn’t want you as a fan/ A. Ricky WILL be a solid NBA PLAYER.PERIOD. B. Barcelona is nicer than Minny, or at least warmer. C. He has already played against the best of the best, Olympics anyone? (NOT the movie) D. Oh, and he is only 19…

  • Brandon Jennings Debuts Under Armour Black Ice on Cover of KICKS 13 | The Shoes Blog Posted: Aug.16 at 7:18 pm
    [...] cover finds BJ in a pair of his first official signature, the Under Armour Black Ice. According to SLAM four Under Armour basketball shoes, Black Ice included, will release this November. Kicks 13 is on [...]

  • Brandon Jennings’ Official Under Armour Basketball Shoe Revealed In KICKS Magazine | The Shoes Blog Posted: Aug.16 at 7:18 pm
    [...] of SLAM Presents: KICKS, Brandon is seen with two pairs of Under Armour sneakers. According to SLAM, four Under Armour basketball shoes will release this November, including the pair in the image [...]

  • logues Posted: Aug.16 at 7:42 pm
    lol at Bigi. old school eminem

  • DreXnaW21 Posted: Aug.16 at 7:58 pm
    i need to get this mag!!!

  • Interview With Russ Bengtson On KICKS | COUNTER KICKS Posted: Aug.16 at 8:23 pm
    [...] what it was like putting together the annual KICKS magazine which was just getting started. Now, as KICKS enters issue 13 (on sale now), we take a look back at some insights to the early years of the all-sneaker-blowout with Russ [...]

  • Michael NZ Posted: Aug.16 at 9:02 pm
    Maaaan no way the young’uns gonna get Furious Styles. Cover looks awesome, can’t wait to pick it up. I had actually picked John Wall, but hey, I’ll settle, you know?

  • Da Real Posted: Aug.16 at 9:28 pm
    Buttah!!!!!!!!!!! no homo

  • LilKDub503 Posted: Aug.16 at 9:31 pm
    Furious Styles, word to Boyz n da Hood.

  • Brandon Jennings Fan Site | BrandonJennings.net Posted: Aug.16 at 11:06 pm
    [...] Jennings joins the likes of MJ, Kobe, KG, AI, LBJ, and Wade by being on the cover of KICKS 13 from SLAM. Not only that, but his much anticipated shoes now have a release date in November, including his [...]

  • Lang Whitaker Posted: Aug.16 at 11:54 pm
    Glad at least some of you are getting the Furious Styles reference.

  • Michael NZ Posted: Aug.16 at 11:58 pm
    A 98% rating doesn’t lie: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood/

  • tato Posted: Aug.17 at 12:37 am
    Jennings is the new iverson type…in good way…

  • Boss Bailey Posted: Aug.17 at 8:33 am
    I had him or Rondo with the Hyperfuse.

  • Anton Posted: Aug.17 at 9:19 am
    When white bubble font disappears, covers go from “good” to “great”.

  • Lucas Posted: Aug.17 at 1:55 pm
    Can’t wait for November! I’ve been waiting forever to get my hands on some UA shoes to hoop in.

  • Nima Zarrabi Posted: Aug.17 at 1:59 pm
    Nice work, fellas. Love the cover.

  • jdstorm Posted: Aug.17 at 11:12 pm
    Just watched Die Hard, now i cant get over how much jennings looks like the limo driver guy.

  • Bigi Posted: Aug.17 at 11:38 pm
    Argyle, my kinda guy! El Classico.

  • BETCATS Posted: Aug.17 at 11:41 pm
    Ill consider getting it. Im interested in the Li-Ning feature. They have an official eBay store that ships to the US and the prices are way higher then i expected. The craziest colors of the Baron Davis shoes were in the $130+ range. Cant remember if it needed a currency converter or not, but im pretty sure the price was in USD.

  • bucksfan Posted: Aug.18 at 12:10 am
    guy over on realgm went with the Furious Styles thing. Bottom of page http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1046779&start=15

  • mogodude22@yahoo.com Posted: Aug.19 at 9:57 am
    Hey everybody, my name is AJ and I’m currently looking for $PAID$ BLOGGERS TO HELP WRITE FOR MY NEW BASKETBALL INFORMATION WEBSITE THAT I PLAN ON OPENING NEXT MONTH. Anybody who is interested or has any questions can call me at 612-803-7432. Thanks and I look forward to hearing back from some people.

  • kenneth patton Posted: Aug.19 at 10:01 am
    its about time under armour putting a shoe out for my man b.j. and its good that kicks put him on the cover.

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Bucks Close to Signing Earl Boykins Posted: Aug.19 at 1:24 pm
    [...] New KICKS On Sale Now! [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Video: Brandon Jennings before/during/after KICKS Cover Shoot Posted: Aug.20 at 8:01 am
    [...] New KICKS On Sale Now! [...]

  • Karl Ma Posted: Aug.20 at 11:05 am
    Where is the cover? Upload the pic!

  • David jackson Posted: Aug.21 at 2:59 am
    Yo ……..yo. ……..like

  • Roy Posted: Aug.21 at 1:23 pm
    Dope cover. I’ma cop as soon as it drops here in the Philippines. Great job SLAM! :D

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Under Armour Basketball Launch Posted: Aug.23 at 12:19 pm
    [...] KICKS On Sale! [...]

  • Brandon Jennings Back On Twitter: Tweets Black Ice, KICKS mag, alqiajdlfwqjkiwejalkd | COUNTERKICKS Posted: Aug.23 at 6:04 pm
    [...] has shown off his Under Armour Micro G Black Ice signature shoe, shots of his just released SLAM/KICKS 13 cover issue, and the always keyboard loquacious asdgyvsdbygfbvveywgdsvhbsdvyvuhbeeyuv. Continue reading for [...]

  • str8 from samoa Posted: Aug.26 at 9:58 pm
    str8 up underamour is gonna take over!

  • Mollywood Posted: Aug.27 at 5:53 am
    Could you please repost the cover shot? Doesn’t appear in my browser window, just a tiny red cross.
    Thanks.

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Aug.27 at 6:18 am
    @Mollywood: I’m guessing that is an Internet Explorer problem? We’re trying to work on better looks on IE, but any other browser should work fine. Try this post in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc and I think you’ll see it fine.

  • Jordan Posted: Aug.31 at 12:08 am
    hey im just wonderin if KICKS comes with the subscription or you have to buy it seperately? thanks

  • 5 Questions With Athletic Propulsion Labs | CounterKicks Posted: Sep.1 at 10:22 pm
    [...] Three brand new colorways of the Concept 1 can be seen in the new SLAM/KICKS magazine. What colorways were [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAM Hits Tumblr Posted: Sep.2 at 11:03 am
    [...] Twitter (@SLAMonline), SLAM’s Facebook, and of course our new print editions (both KICKS and World Hoops are on newsstands now!), we’ve added a fresh tumblr page to the [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Brandon Jennings: Nike Kept Me Off Team USA Posted: Sep.14 at 9:00 am
    [...] Jennings thinks he knows why he got the snub, and according to Brandon, it’s got to do with him endorsing the wrong sneakers. [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Brandon Jennings To Be At Milwaukee Foot Locker Saturday Posted: Oct.19 at 12:11 pm
    [...] celebration of his new Black Ice kicks, KICKS 13 cover star Brandon Jennings will be at the Foot Locker in Mayfair Mall this Saturday, October 23. [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » UA and Brandon Jennings Hit Milwaukee Posted: Oct.25 at 10:32 am
    [...] Armour’s entrance into the basketball world finally officially kicked off this weekend as KICKS 13 cover star Brandon Jennings’ Micro G Black Ice sneakers went on sale in Milwaukee. Our [...]

  • Boogie389 Posted: Jan.1 at 1:10 pm
    How can I buy archived issues of Kicks magazine?

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Jan.2 at 4:57 am
    @Boogie389: you should be able to find a couple on here: http://www.primediabackissues.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=PB&Category_Code=SLAM
    Any KICKS you don’t see on there must have sold out from our back-issue department. In that case, your best bet is ebay…

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Air Jordan III Returns Posted: Jan.19 at 1:03 pm
    [...] Air Jordan VII Bordeaux. I went into detail on this release way back in the summer in the 2010 KICKS issue. Air Jordan fans have waited a full 19 years for this colorway of the Air Jordan VII to make [...]

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