Everybody has probably heard of the infamous trade attempt of Chris Paul from New Orleans Hornets to Los Angeles Lakers, and NBA league commissioner David Stern’s nullification of it. Apparently, the leagues commissioner “has the ability to veto a transaction on behalf of the league if he feels it would be damaging”. Nevertheless, as Chris Paul’s contract with the Hornets was coming to an end, he made it to LA eventually. To LA Clippers, to be precise.

To celebrate his arrival to LA, Nike’s subsidiary company, and Chris’ official sponsor, Air Jordan brand organized an event for the launch of their new signature shoe CP3.V. The whole event was actually and interactive installation capturing certain moments from Chris’ life. The rooms were modeled to resemble the basketball court in his childhood home, the high school gym he went to, and the Wake Forrest college arena – the one he attended. According to the press release “each room represented definitive moments in Chris Paul’s life that have helped him evolve into the player he is today”. Chris and the shoe’s designer, Tom Luedecke, gave the media a tour of the installation, after which they sat down and answered all the question the media representatives were interested in.

As far as the new shoe is concerned, Chris Paul made sure that it was symbolic in its own kind of way. It has exactly 61 cut outs, which represent the 61 points he scored and dedicated to his late grandfather. It also features a special traction pattern to meat his need for quickness, which he developed as a child. The first colorway of CP3.V is heading out to retail on Wednesday, January 11 2012, at a suggested price of $120. The second, White/Black-Cement Grey colorway will be available in February 2012. To pay homage to his Alma Mater, Wake Forrest, Chris requested a special, third colorway – Black/Vegas Gold, which will be in retail stores in March.  All of the dates are valid for U.S. only.

Hear what Chris Paul and the designer of the shoe said during the event in the video below: