New Balance Revives Lakers/Celtics Rivalry With The 480 “Eighties Pack”

Dedicated editions for the play-in champs and presumptive title favorites.

Matt Varga April 17, 2024

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New Balance is turning its attention to skaters. A Vu Skate Shop 440v2 drop last week and the debut of the Tom Knox Numeric 600 are the latest indications of that renewed energy. Now putting forth a crossover effort, the New Balance Numeric 480 “Eighties Pack” applies a heavy dose of old school hoops.

Crucially, the original 480 represents the first of New Balance’s 80’s basketball models, adopted by contemporary pros like the Lakers’ James Worthy and Celtics’ M.L. Carr. On top of a West/East coast split across these two pairs, there’s also a jersey contrast, with the leather Lakers pair adopting a white-dominant away palette, while the suede Celtics edition is draped almost entirely in trademark green a la their Garden outfits. Though the historical ties at work with this pair are significant enough, it’s some excellent timing for New Balance to mint this series – the Lakers and Celtics both eyeing deep playoff runs make its a perfect time for their fan bases to rock these proudly.

Both pairs in the New Balance Numeric 480 “Eighties Pack” will retail for $100, landing via retail partners on April 19th and via NewBalance.com on April 22. Scroll down for store links and official galleries of both.

Steering back to the NB mainline, take a look at the New Balance 993 “Chive” and New Balance 993 “Mercury,” the next MADE in USA drops expected this month.

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WHERE TO BUY

Mens New Balance 480 "West"

SKU: NM480PST

RETAIL PRICE: $100

RELEASE DATE: Apr 22, 2024

US 04/22/2024 Monday

Retailer	Release type	Status
New Balance US	Standard	Check Site

Get on the Where to Buy list

1 of 4

WHERE TO BUY

Mens New Balance 480 "East"

SKU: NM480EST

RETAIL PRICE: $100

RELEASE DATE: Apr 22, 2024

US 04/22/2024 Monday

Retailer	Release type	Status
New Balance US	Standard	Check Site

Get on the Where to Buy list

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Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.