It controlled 58% of the U.S. basketball shoe market in 2012, according to research firm SportsOneSource.

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Until now, this marketing strategy has been exploited more often by basketball shoe makers and record labels.

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Nike, including its Jordan Brand subsidiary, is the dominant basketball shoe company in the States with a 92% market share, according to SportsOneScan, which tracks sports shoe and apparel sales.

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At 8 inches tall, the all-black exterior of the shoe is the highest cut of any basketball shoe on the market and is designed to resemble the silhouette of a military combat boot.

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Nike controls a staggering 95% of the basketball shoe market already (a function of Michael Jordan much more than James or Kobe Bryant), but it has a new competitor in Under Armour which launched its first basketball shoe this month.

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He was also the first basketball player to have a shoe endorsement: for Puma.

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Behind the scenes, Hatfield altered a shoe from the basketball division.

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The twins, who are former college football and basketball players and now run a shoe company together, say they bought identical apartments because they wanted to achieve similar goals.

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