NBAers To Wear Specially Designed Shoes In All-Star Game

Yao To Wear Special Reebok Shoe During NBA All-Star Game

All players in the NBA All-Star Game Sunday "will don special basketball shoes" designed by various shoe companies, as the league "lifts the color restrictions on footwear" for the game each year, according to Oscar Dixon of USA TODAY. Nuggets F Carmelo Anthony, who has a deal with Jordan Brand, will wear the Air Jordan XX3 shoe, which goes on sale nationwide Saturday. Rockets C Yao Ming will wear Reebok ATR Elite II's, and five pairs of the shoes, which include a white, red and black dragon print, will go on sale at NBA.com for $100 and at retailers in China. Heat G Dwyane Wade will wear limited edition WADE3's which hit stores nationwide today. Five adidas players -- Pistons G Chauncey Billups, Spurs F Tim Duncan, Celtics F Kevin Garnett, Magic C Dwight Howard and Wizards F Antawn Jamison -- will wear the company's Team Signature Pro Model shoe with All-Star logos (USA TODAY, 2/14).

NASH TRASH: Suns G Steve Nash during tonight's Suns-Mavericks game will debut the Nike Trash Talk, a shoe made from manufacturing waste. Nike will give the Trash Talk a limited release in three color patterns. An All-Star version, which Nash will wear during Sunday's game, will be sold at House of Hoops by Foot Locker in N.Y. and New Orleans this week for $100. Two Suns versions -- with home and away colors -- will launch at the same retailer in April (Nike). Nash: "I had nothing to do with the price point, but I was definitely supportive about reusing" (EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE, 2/14).