Announced in June 2015, Nike¡¯s partnership with the NBA started with the current
2017-18 season and recently the company launched the new Nike NBA NikeGrip Power
Crew and Quick Crew socks.
¡°Ask any athlete, and they¡¯ll tell you: Socks matter. Basketball athletes have a unique
relationship with their shoes, and are particularly vocal about their affinity for socks and how
they provide comfort, protection and traction. Beyond that, tradition plays a critical role in
sock-wearing, and includes rituals such as layering two or more socks, wearing one higher
than another or scrunching them around the ankles,¡± the Oregon based company explains.
Foot size is only one differentiating factor between players, Nike says. Nike says it learned
through research that sock thickness, as it relates to style of play, is equally important.
Accordingly, Nike designers created two types of socks for its partnership with the NBA: the
thick and super-cushioned NBA NikeGrip Power Crew sock, and the lightweight with medium
cushion NBA NikeGrip Quick Crew sock.
Both are made with NikeGrip yarns (ultrafine polyester fibres twisted with traditional fibres
to increase the sock’s surface area) for anti-slip traction and zoned cushioning
that protects and vents.
¡°Socks are the first line of defence,¡± says NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who challenged the
designers to create socks so good that players would stop wearing two at the same time.
¡°Your feet are the most important thing you bring to the game,¡± Bryant adds. ¡°You¡¯ve got to
take care of your feet.¡±
Kevin Durant, who is known for layering two pairs of socks out of a preference for maximum
cushioning around his heels and ankles, had significant input for the super-cushioned NBA
NikeGrip Power Crew sock. ¡°I want a lot of cushioning,¡± Durant told the development team.
¡°But I want to feel the court.¡±
Feeling the court is equally important to LeBron James, who pushed the designers to
prioritize traction as much as cushioning, and to achieve an optimal level of compression and
flexibility around the foot and ankle. ¡°It¡¯s important that I don¡¯t slide in my shoes,¡± says James,
whose input influenced the placement of NikeGrip on the NBA NikeGrip Quick and Power
Crew socks. ¡°I need traction for cutting and jumping.¡±
Nike says there are five things to know about the new NBA NikeGrip Power and Quick socks.
