News & Trends: This basketball shoe, the Concept 1 by Athletic Propulsion Labs, is the first shoe to be banned by the NBA for providing an "undue competitive advantage." The ban supports the claim by its manufacturers that the shoe's Load ‘N Launch™ technology actually does increase a wearer's vertical leap as much as 3.5 inches.

The manufacturer claims that in bio-mechanical testing, the shoes delivered increases in vertical leap of up to 3.5 inches when compared against a leading competitive brand’s most expensive basketball shoe.

“We were not exactly shocked to hear the NBA chose to ban our shoes,” said APL co-founder Adam Goldston. “The Load ‘N Launch Technology not only provides an instant and dramatic increase in vertical leap, but the biomechanical testing showed that the players exerted far less energy as a result.” Adam and Ryan Goldston, former USC basketball players and twin brothers, are the founders of the company.

Are you kidding me? Three-and-one-half inches would put my wrists above the rim on a 10-foot-high hoop. I am drooling to try a pair of these basketball shoes. While these shoes are banned by the NBA, there are amateur basketball leagues held at local gyms that are about to be energized with high-flying weekend warriors going for slam dunks worldwide.

Visit the company's website for a whole new altitude!