Report Card Grades for Dwight Howard's New 'D Howard 4' Adidas Shoe

First a new team, now a new pair of shoes. Dwight Howard doesn't do anything halfway.

Per Lang Whitaker of NBA.com, Adidas will be dropping the D Howard 4 on Nov. 1, two days after the Houston Rockets open up the regular season.

Adidas had the following to say about the latest line of Howard's signature shoe:

"

The spiral wave design on the shoe’s upper is inspired by Dwight’s playing style and how he circles the paint protecting the rim by blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. The bright color palette of this Yellow-Gold-Blue colorway was selected to match Dwight’s personality while the tongue and three-stripes branding both feature a chrome treatment to stand out on the court.

"

As you can and will see, these kicks certainly "stand out," but is Superman's latest foot-related endeavor a successful one?

We'll be the judges of that.

Color: A

The color scheme on these is warped, which in this case translates to awesome.

Mixing the black and red with the different shades of gold, along with the blue laces, just works. There is a lot going on, but it flows in unison. The constantly shifting pigments catch your attention and keep it. When you see these, you're going to stare.

I am, however, wondering when exactly this concept was created. 

Within the design, you can see plenty of Rockets red, but the gold tips are beyond Laker-ish. Adidas may have elected to play it safe after putting these into production well before Howard made his decision. They ensured that this particular colorway would mesh with whatever uniform he'd be wearing. There's even some Orlando Magic blue in there.

Considering how often Howard has changed teams over the last two years, you can never be too careful. This is footwear at its most resourceful.

Design/Logo: A-

You probably have some thoughts on how much better Howard could have handled his departures from the Magic and Los Angeles Lakers, but it's difficult to find any faults in the design of this shoe.

The logo is strategically placed on the tongue, not too flashy and not too subtle. I'm also digging the three-black, one-red blueprint they ran with, mostly because I'm a fan of change.

Taking it one step further, making each of the four pieces a different color would have made these things pop even more. That's me nitpicking, though.

Don't ask me why, but I'm amused and surprisingly accepting of the black knob-like circles near the ankles. Their function is unclear and they're a bit disproportionate—still, I love them.

Same goes for the grooves near the bottom. They add even more flair to an already chic design. The use of something other than white to lead down through the sole would have kept in theme with the rest of the shoe more, but coloring the tops was a nice touch nonetheless.

This definitely could have done without the loop on the back. Seriously, who uses that anymore? If I were even to ask the audience what its function really is, I'm betting a majority wouldn't even know.

Silver lining? It's not silver. Or white. Or anything bland like that. They had the good sense to make it blue. Orlando will be pleased.

Fashion/Swagger: B+

We probably could have went higher than a "B+." Nothing says "swagger" like an acid trip's worth of colors, shapes, grooves and lines.

Nevertheless, the fashion aspect weighs down the swagger potential considerably.

It's not just about "hey, look at me." You want your signature shoe to reflect your personality, however vibrant, but you also want it fitted for those who don't walk out of the house in a basketball uniform and/or multi-colored shawls.

For a night at the club, scarfing down pizza and popping champagne with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Drake, these work. For simpler tasks and everyday activities, not so much.

If that's my only qualm, though, then Adidas and Howard did something right. Many things, actually.

Overall Grade: A-

Incredibly loud, and proud. That's how I would describe these.

Not-so-coincidentally, those are the exact same words I would use to describe Howard to someone who had no idea who the 6'11" smirking behemoth was.

These shoes are an accurate representation of his personality and how he plays on the court. He (usually) carries himself with a gleaming bravado, befitting of a man and player who would sport action-packed shoes such as these.

Not to be overlooked is their functional versatility. D-12 could have worn these with the Lakers or Magic, as well as the Rockets. Shoot, if he decides to request a trade to the Atlanta Hawks or Los Angeles Clippers, they'll work too.

Now about those loops...

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