The Handball Spezial has been quietly doing its thing since 1979, born on the handball court, adopted by British terrace culture, and now firmly planted in the fashion conversation alongside the mighty Samba and Gazelle. At this point, it hardly needs an introduction.

But adidas clearly had other plans.

The latest Handball Spezial arrives embossed head-to-toe in snake pattern and dressed in three colorways that will have basketball fans doing a double take. The white with purple and yellow? Lakers. Grey with orange and blue? Knicks. Black with red and grey? You already know, Bulls.

Nobody asked for NBA team colours on a 1979 European handball shoe covered in snakeskin. Nobody needed to. This is exactly the kind of unhinged crossover that makes sneakers worth paying attention to.

The T-shaped toe cap, jagged Three Stripes, and amber gum outsole are all still here, keeping the Spezial's bones intact beneath all the reptilian chaos. The brown gum sole ties all three together, a rare moment of restraint in an otherwise very unrestrained shoe.

Three colorways. One very good excuse to own all of them. 

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