Now that NBA players have officially relaxed into the summer, they’re killing it with sneaks in all the shades of the sun. However, the colourways that sneakerheads are having the biggest meltdown over are those dripping in gold. It makes perfect sense. There are a slew of killer metallic kicks slated to drop during this off-season, and several players seen sharing photos of golden footwear have added to the excitement. Here are five of our favourite new and upcoming sneakers leading the upscale trend.

 

 

 

A photo of these metallic sneaks surfaced on Instagram on Tuesday, immediately causing the sneakerverse to implode. The community is undecided on whether they’re customs or an as-of-yet unreleased colourway, and details have been scant. The only thing that everybody can agree on is that they’re extremely coppable. We’ll let you know when more details surface.

 

 

 

Chinese brand Li-Ning treats Dwyane Wade like royalty, to say the least. The company’s dropped several of his signature pairs over the last few years, but none in a colourway like this Way of Wade 3.0 pair that Wade posted on his Instagram account. They bear a passing similarity to the All Star 1 and 2 colourways the company dropped earlier this year, but the dots have been decked out in gold. We don’t know when (or if) these will drop, but they’re on our wishlist.

 

 

 

These upcoming versions of the LeBron 12, Kobe X and KD7 Elite sneakers are elevated with hot details in metallic red bronze adorning classic black and charcoal silhouettes. They’ll each be released with a supporting cast of Megafuse apparel, including compression tights, jerseys and more. Expect to see these release over the weekend on June 5.

 

 

 

Nike’s long-awaited gold Foams finally released on April 3 after two years of revisions and missed drop dates. However, it looks like Erick Green snagged a pair a few days early in March. The hypnotic silhouette features black details and an upper drenched in matte gold.

 

 

 

Asics takes a page out of Nike’s book for this liquid metal-style remake of their Gel Lyte silhouette. We received this first look at these sample kicks at the end of April, butrumour has it that we’ll have a release on our hands sometime this summer.

 

 

Up until now, we’ve shown you pairs featuring gold colourways. How about actual gold? To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Jordan brand is releasing an Air Jordan 1 with 24-carat details draped over a synthetic snakeskin upper. We got a first look at them during the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend (you may have heard of the so-called “Brooklyn” editions), but they weren’t available to the public. You’ll finally be able to snag a pair on June 20 at select retailers.

 

   

 

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