Eighteen months ago when Kobe Bryant met with Nike officials to discuss his next shoe, he gave Eric Avar, Nike's performance footwear creative director, one request: build the lowest basketball shoe ever.

"I pressed him on it," Avar said. "I was like, 'A real low? Like a soccer shoe?' And Kobe said, 'Yes. A true, genuine low top.'

"It was pretty remarkable. Here was the greatest basketball player in the world telling me that he didn't need all this stuff around his ankle. And he wanted to prove that to everyone from Nike to fellow NBA players to the consumer."

Bryant is expected to wear the new Kobe IV for the first time in a game on Dec. 19 against Miami.

The shoe is in part inspired by soccer shoes, as Bryant is an avid soccer fan.