nike launches sport offense | a new era of innovation

The mandate from Nike’s co-founder, Bill Bowerman, was simple: “Make athletes better.” But the challenge laid down by Kobe Bryant was far more audacious: “Create epic s***.”

Nike is responding to that challenge by fundamentally dismantling its old structure and rebuilding itself as a unified, athlete-focused creation engine. This is the launch of the NIKE, Inc. Sport Offense, a hyper-accelerated system that pulls the Innovation, Design and Product teams from Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse into a single, cohesive unit. The goal is to break down silos, share proprietary tech and insights seamlessly, and drastically speed up the delivery of game-changing performance gear.

“Everything begins and ends with the athlete’s voice – their goals, their struggles, their drive,” explains Phil McCartney, Chief Innovation, Design and Product Officer. By integrating these powerhouses, Nike aims to leverage its strengths across all three brands, ensuring a relentless flow of product breakthroughs.

The foundational core of the Sport Offense is the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL), the integrated heart of the LeBron James Innovation Center. This facility is where the future of “fastest, strongest and greatest” is engineered.

The NSRL is a global leader in performance science, housing the world’s largest motion-capture system, a basketball court, pitch and track equipped with 97 force plates, and climate chambers that can precisely mimic almost any environment on Earth. It is here that bioengineers, neuroscientists and designers collaborate, ensuring that every new product truly begins and ends with the athlete’s voice.

To prove the Sport Offense is already delivering on its “epic s***” promise, Nike is simultaneously unveiling four platforms that redefine the intersection of science, performance and creativity.

Nike is debuting its first-ever neuroscience-based footwear, the Mind 001 and Mind 002. This platform, developed over a decade by the new Mind Science Department, taps into the physical connection between foot and brain. By activating specific sensory receptors underfoot, the shoes help athletes lock in their mindset, boosting calm and presence before and after competition. As athlete Erling Haaland notes, the feeling of the shoe “helps me to bring balance to my game,” proving innovation can now target the mind as effectively as the muscle.

On the other hand, Project Amplify is the world’s first powered footwear system for running and walking. Developed alongside robotics partner Dephy, this system breaks the perception of possibility by augmenting natural lower leg movement. Think of it as an electric bike for your feet: a lightweight motor, drive belt and rechargeable cuff battery integrate with a carbon-fiber-plated shoe. While not for elite sprinters, this technology is designed to help everyday athletes shave minutes off their pace, making a long commute or an uphill run feel like moving on flat ground.

Addressing the undeniable challenge of global warming in sport, Aero-FIT is Nike’s pinnacle cooling technology. This performance apparel innovation is capable of channeling more than double the airflow of legacy Nike gear, supporting sweating efficiency and helping athletes sustain peak performance in extreme heat. Notably, Aero-FIT is Nike’s first elite performance apparel made entirely from textile waste using advanced chemical recycling, demonstrating that climate adaptation and sustainability are now core components of peak performance. This technology is set to make its global debut in the FIFA World Cup 2026 football kits.

Last but not least, the Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket (built on nearly five decades of Air innovation) is Nike’s most technically advanced outerwear. Powered by A.I.R. (Adapt. Inflate. Regulate.) Technology, the jacket allows athletes to adjust their insulation in real time by inflating or deflating air within its baffles. This allows the garment to shift instantly from hoodie-light to puffer-warm, delivering personalised thermal control in any condition. Team USA athletes will wear this groundbreaking outerwear at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, putting Air technology on the chest, not just underfoot.

With the Sport Offense now fully activated, the world is waiting to see how far athletes can go when their gear is literally powered by science.

Learn more here.

photography. courtesy of Nike
words. Gennaro Costanzo