Ron Artest launches new sneaker on eve of NBA All-Star Game

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Taking full advantage of the NBA All-Star weekend, Ron Artest invited a group of friends to Beachers Madhouse at the Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday night for an intimate party to celebrate the launch of his mixtape that came out Friday and his new sneaker line Ball’n, which he owns with partner Rodney Jeter.

Available in stores as of this weekend, Artest’s Ball’n sneakers are the first to use D30 technology (a technology that was originally used as a shock absorber in Lamborghinis) and are his sneakers of choice when he plays Laker games. “I can tell the difference between this and other shoes,” he said. “I’m not icing my knees as much, the joints are feeling good and I’m still moving fast. It’s a light shoe, but it’s really strong and it looks great too.”

The shoes are available now in variations of the Laker colors, purple and yellow, but will be released in other colors in March. About 5 % of proceeds will be donated to charities, including Artest’s Xcel University, which works with youth susceptible to mental health issues.

Artest was proud of the fact that his sneakers can be worn on the court and out on the town with the right pair of jeans. Saturday night, he was decked out in his own brands from head to toe, his feet shod in a gray version of the new Ball’n sneakers that will be available to the public March 15.

The shoes in Laker colors are available as of this weekend at select Millennium and Foot Action shoe stores and they’ll be available online as of March 15. The high tops are priced at $85 and the lowtops are $75.

--Raha Lewis