Nike is pulling all the stops for the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. They even showed up with a never-before-seen basketball shoe: the Nike S.T. Charge, the toughest model yet in its Street Tough lineup. And it’s no surprise that they’ve chosen Cade Cunningham as the face of the new sneaker.
If you’ve been paying attention since the S.T. Flare dropped in Summer 2025, you know Nike built this sub-line for one reason: outdoor hoopers. Made to run full-court on jagged concrete, the Flare was designed to survive the abuse. Soon, the S.T. Glow followed. Then the kids-only S.T. Dynamite stirred up comment sections. Now comes the Nike S.T. Charge is here. And this one feels different.
See the Nike team talk about the sneaker and its tech on Instagram via davyc3.
At the center of it all stands 24-year-old Detroit Pistons guard and NBA All-Star Cade Cunningham. His signature shoe arrives in 2027, but until then, Nike tapped him as the face of the S.T. Charge. That move makes sense when you look at how he approached All-Star Weekend. While critics questioned the effort level in the league’s 75th anniversary exhibition, Cunningham and teammate Jalen Duren competed like it was April.
USA Stars crushed USA Stripes 47-21 in the championship game after opening on a 33-9 run. Cunningham didn’t score, but he handed out two assists and swatted a Kevin Durant dunk attempt. Duren added six points and four rebounds. Earlier in the night, Cunningham dropped 11 points against USA Stripes, drilled a corner three to cut the deficit to one, and attacked the rim late. He also played defense. In an All-Star Game.
Bill Simmons noticed. “I thought the Detroit guys genuinely care and that’s why the game was good,” he said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. Zach Lowe backed it up: “It’s what you like about the Pistons… they legitimately just want to beat the hell out of you and out physical you, and out touch you and they want to make you quit.”
That attitude fits the S.T. Charge perfectly.
Nike senior director of basketball footwear product design Ross Klein explained the mission plainly: “We would create a shoe that would beat the environment.” So Nike built XDR-X, a new rubber compound that wraps from the outsole up into the midsole and even the upper. It’s designed for asphalt, but Nike tested it indoors too and found no drop-off in performance. That’s rare. Most outdoor shoes feel like bricks on hardwood.
Underfoot, you get a drop-in midsole with full-length Cushlon and an articulated Air Zoom bag. The All-Star “Warning Label” player exclusive Cunningham wore features a red iridescent upper with his logo on the tongue. It pairs nicely with those red USA Stars jerseys, navy side panels and all.
The upper’s textured MonSTer Skin finish nods to silhouettes like the Kobe 6 and Ja 3 without copying them outright. It looks built for concrete. It also looks good with jeans. Nike even previewed five additional colorways that lean into lifestyle appeal without sacrificing performance.
Sneaker News has a few exclusive images of the Nike S.T. Charge.
Right now, the S.T. Charge is expected to stay a Greater China exclusive, like the 2025 Flare and upcoming Dynamite. A wider North American release hasn’t been confirmed. That will frustrate plenty of hoopers outside Asia who already envy the S.T. line.
Still, Nike made a statement in Los Angeles. If you play outdoors and you’re tired of shredding your soles by midseason, the S.T. Charge exists for you. And if you play with the same edge Cunningham brought to All-Star Weekend, this shoe feels right at home.
RELATED: Air Jordan Jumpman MVP 678 Review: The Best Jordan Hybrid Sneaker
