New Balance’s Kawhi V is out. Foot Locker’s release calendar carried two colorways for Wednesday, October 21, both at $160: this Green/Gold pair and a Blue/Silver one.
That first burst
The Kawhi V is Kawhi Leonard’s fifth signature model with New Balance, revealed back in April. New Balance built it around his first step: a dual-density FuelCell midsole and a forefoot YPlate, under a soft upper meant to hold the foot in place on hard cuts. Leonard is credited as creative director on the shoe’s campaign and worked with the design team on fit.
“I wanted this model to highlight those first steps, that first burst that you feel on the court,” Leonard said in New Balance’s announcement.
It’s a slimmer shoe than the Kawhi 4, especially through the upper. That mixes mesh with TPU overlays that echo New Balance’s older tech runners. The Green/Gold pair is one shade of green from the tongue down, with suede on the heel and a perforated heel panel. The outsole is translucent green, and the metallic N on the side reads closer to copper than gold in Foot Locker’s photos. New Balance hasn’t published a colour name, so we use Foot Locker’s.
Can you still get a pair?
Try Foot Locker’s launch page first, in men’s sizes. New Balance said in April it would sell the shoe at newbalance.com and select retailers. Its own site carries the Blue/Silver pair for members only, at $159.99; we couldn’t find the Green/Gold there. No UK retailer had listed it when we checked on October 22.
The Blue/Silver pair released the same day at the same $160: royal blue with a silver N.
How it went
Foot Locker launched both colorways together, one pair per person. On October 22, the day after, its product pages still showed both in stock. On November 2 we couldn’t read stock on Foot Locker’s pages, which load it in the browser. It was a general release at a basketball shoe’s usual price, and $160 is the benchmark if you see it elsewhere. More from the brand on our New Balance page.
