Nike KD 8 'Independence Day' Release Date Schedule, Pics and Retail Price

There are many ways to prepare for Independence Day in this country, but a new one will be seeking out Nike's release of the new Kevin Durant "Independence Day" sneakers on June 27. 

As you would expect for a star athlete like Durant, Nike is pulling out all the stops on this latest release for the former NBA MVP with an innovative new design and look. 

Here's an overhead view of the sneaker with the American flag serving as the background, via KicksOnFire.com:

Before diving into the shoe's specifics, here is the necessary release information:

Date	Price	Find
Saturday, June 27	$180	Nike.com

Now, onto those details that are being touted. According to Lucas Leftfoot of NikeBlog.com, the KD 8 will feature two new design elements that Nike has never used before in a basketball sneaker: "a Flyweave upper and an articulated full-length Zoom Air unit." Leftfoot provided some background on the two elements and why they were selected:

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Inspired by the woven textiles engineered for spacesuits—objects that require reduced weight but superlative strength and stability—Flyweave technology was over two years in the making when designers Leo Chang and Thomas Bell selected it as the central component to the new KD 8 upper.

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There aren't a lot of innovations left to be made with regard to basketball shoes, but to see Nike put such effort into making the new KDs unique is a positive step. 

Given the patriotic title Nike has applied to these sneakers and their timely release date, it's only fitting the shoes make use of America's colors, via Nice Kicks:

Here's a side shot of the shoe that illustrates how the red and white pop off these kicks, via unbxd_snkr:

Even though the Independence Day bit is for marketing purposes, these shoes don't depend on that color to work. The red, white and blue is important to the design, but the colors don't limit these by turning them into seasonal sneakers. 

Lasting appeal is a key point for shoes, especially at the rate at which new ones are released. The new KD 8 Independence Day model is built to stick around long after the holiday passes.