Tennessee basketball unveils Kevin Durant Nikes

Rick Barnes’ Tennessee basketball Volunteers revealed the new custom KD13 sneakers.

One of the biggest advantages to Tennessee basketball hiring Rick Barnes over five years ago was the number of connections he had to former players and coaches. That has helped the Vols schedule tough and keep the program in touch with elite superstars.

Well, it looks like those connections are now paying off in the uniforms as well. UT will have the option of wearing a version of the signature shoe from Kevin Durant, the best NBA player Barnes ever coached.

On Saturday, the Tennessee basketball Twitter account officially unveiled the customized KD13 shoes with multiple photos. Durant played for Barnes when he was head coach of the Texas Longhorns back in the 2006-2007 season.

According to Nike’s website, the KD13 incorporates the Nike Zoom Air technology in two different spots: the upper and in the forefoot. The line was released on April 6 globally, but it wasn’t released in North America until April 17.

Durant won back to back NBA Finals titles and NBA Finals MVPs with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. He also won the regular season MVP back in 2014, and he is a four-time scoring champion over his 12 years in the league.

A 6’11” wing player, Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 but missed all of last season to recover from an injury. He wasn’t unfamiliar with UT in his college days, though, as in December of 2006, he and Barnes blew an 18-point lead to Bruce Pearl’s Vols, losing in overtime thanks to 35 points from Chris Lofton and an impressive deep three-pointer Lofton hit over Durant late.

It’s unclear how often Tennessee basketball will wear these shoes, but it certainly can’t hurt recruiting. Barnes has Rocky Top securing five-star talent on a yearly basis now given the way he has built the program, and this can only serve to help that.