A first look at the Nike Zoom Huarache 2K4 "Knicks" — Penny Hardaway's player exclusive from his New York years — has surfaced. The PE releases Fall 2026 at $210, style code IV0345-001, marking its first-ever retail release.
The shoe Penny actually wore
Penny Hardaway joined the New York Knicks for the 2003-04 season, the late, injury-shortened chapter of a career that had once made him one of the most electric guards in the league and one of Nike's biggest signature stars. The 2K4 was never a Penny signature shoe — but this is the make-up he wore on-court in New York, and Nike kept it in the vault for more than two decades.
The colorway is executed dark. Black carries the upper, royal blue handles the accents — the Swoosh backdrop, the tongue label, the heel counter, the toe box — and orange outlines the Swoosh and fills the midsole. It is unmistakably Knicks, without leaning on the team's brighter registers. The first-look images keep the focus on the colors; Penny's "One Cent" logo is expected on the heel of the retail pair.
Why the 2K4 still matters
The Air Zoom Huarache 2K4, designed by Eric Avar, debuted in 2004 as a modern reading of the Huarache concept Tinker Hatfield introduced in 1992. Its real place in history is bigger than any one PE: the 2K4 was Kobe Bryant's unofficial first Nike shoe, the bridge between his previous deal and the Zoom Kobe 1 in 2005, and Kobe was the silhouette's on-court face. It is routinely named among the best basketball shoes Nike has ever designed.
The last time it saw a proper retail retro was 2016 — a full decade ago. That gap is why 2026 has effectively become the 2K4's revival year, alongside reissues like the "All-Star" colorway returning this spring. The "Knicks" PE extends that program into deeper-cut territory.
The read
A player exclusive is a specific kind of release — it rewards the fan who knows the lore, not the casual buyer, and at $210 the 2K4 prices like the premium retro it is. The Knicks make-up also surfaces at a convenient cultural moment, with the franchise back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a generation. Fall 2026 leaves a long runway; expect a firm release date closer to the end of summer.
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