Reebok Kamikaze

About

Reebok designer Ricardo Vestuti created the Kamikaze in 1994 as a signature shoe for Seattle SuperSonics forward Shawn Kemp, who was approaching stardom but, as Vestuti later admitted, wasn't someone he was familiar with at the time of the assignment. The design took its cues not from basketball but from art: Vestuti drew inspiration from a Venezuelan artist's painting of a crown of thorns, translating its jagged, angular lines into the shoe's bold zig-zag upper panels, which echoed the rugged, aggressive style Kemp brought to the court. Before settling on Kamikaze, Reebok considered several other names for the shoe, including Altimeter, Eliminator, and Adversary, before the more dramatic final choice stuck. Kemp wore the original Kamikaze through his breakout mid-90s seasons with the Sonics, and its high-energy design became inseparable from his on-court persona. The line continued with the Kamikaze II, which Kemp wore during Seattle's 64-18, franchise-best 1995-96 season and their run to the NBA Finals. Reebok discontinued the series after Kemp was traded to Cleveland in 1997, but has periodically retro'd both models for the brand's classics line since.