{"id":409002,"date":"2014-10-20T21:15:05","date_gmt":"2014-10-21T02:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=409002"},"modified":"2020-03-28T11:26:09","modified_gmt":"2020-03-28T15:26:09","slug":"koc25-import-sneaker-stars-nba-history-25-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/koc25-import-sneaker-stars-nba-history-25-21\/","title":{"rendered":"#KOC25: The Most Important Sneaker Stars in NBA History (25-21)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Every decade brings about a shift of some sort in the NBA and in sneakers. During the ’80s, we witnessed the then-popular Converse Weapon being advertised by the two greatest players of that decade, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Over the course of the ’90s, Michael Jordan’s footwear and other signature lines reigned. The team shoe stood out in the early 2000s, and the mid-to-late parts of that decade saw the rise and birth of signature lines from Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and others. Each decade has steadily increased the awareness of footwear in the NBA, and in addition to the footwear brands, there are a number of individuals who deserve the credit.<\/p>\n
Throughout the course of this week, follow us through The Most Important Sneaker Stars in NBA History<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> Each day this week, we will unveil five player until we reach #1 on Friday. Weigh in on our list by using the hashtag #KOC25 on your respective social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram.<\/p>\n Rocking retros to hoop in may be the norm in 2014, but it wasn’t during the 1990s, or even the 2000s for that matter. Leave it to Rasheed Wallace<\/strong> to break the rules. After an All-American campaign in Chapel Hill, #30 stepped onto the hardwood of the nation’s capital in all-black Nike Air Force 1 Highs<\/strong>. The rest? History.<\/p>\n Mostly avoiding the forward-thinking Air Max and Zoom Air assisted models that his contemporaries would push, Sheed started sporting Air Force 1s consistently on court around the 1999 season. A trend-hopper? Nah, this was three years before Nelly would make them splash on radio and 17 years after they originally released. Perhaps it was being an old soul or maybe it was lockout angst, but the Portland power forward would ditch performance pairs and essentially make the Air Force 1 his own. Nike would soon follow suit, releasing rare renditions with Sheed branding and team themed color combos.<\/p>\n Even as a veteran with the New York Knicks, Sheed still made Kicks On Court headlines by breaking out suede PEs in the Garden. He remained relevant in retail, too, launching Lunarlon Forces in NYC colorways. While footwear fads come and go, Rasheed Wallace not only endorsed a retro model over the course of his career, he also embodied it by being the grizzly guy at the gym who knew what he liked and stuck to it.<\/p>\n -Ian Stonebrook<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hate it or love it, Under Armour<\/strong> is a major player in the basketball footwear game. While the brand made headlines this summer for almost stealing away Kevin Durant from the Swoosh, the Shield gained their basketball buzz and credibility by signing a cavalier kid from Compton back in ’08.<\/p>\n Passing up the chance to run the point for the Wildcats in Tuscon, Brandon Jennings<\/strong> took the road less traveled by forgoing his thought to be single season in college to play professionally in Rome. Before packing his bags, Under Armour inked the Oak Hill standout to a $2 Million deal<\/a>, making him the first basketball endorsee for the brand. In BJ’s first year with UA, he’d serve more or less as a product tester for the brand overseas, building the buzz for both the shoe and his own NBA debut.<\/p>\n In his first two seasons with the Bucks, B-Jennings would drop 55 points as a rookie and cover KICKS magazine all with Under Armour on his feet. He’d receive signature models and even be appointed ‘Curator of Cool’ by the brand. While the slick guard may no longer be at the forefront of Under Armour’s basketball business, he was a major player in paving the way for their current success and all that is to come.<\/p>\n -Ian Stonebrook<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n No signature, no problem.<\/p>\n While we often praise big men who were granted signature shoe lines during their career, such as Shaquille O’Neal, Shawn Kemp and Patrick Ewing, San Antonio Spurs legend David Robinson<\/strong> – a non-signature athlete – had just as much impact, shoe-wise, as any big man to play in the NBA. After all, signature shoes don’t mean everything. Heck, Alonzo Mourning was presented with a signature shoe, but we can all concede that The Admiral was much more meaningful to shoes during his time.<\/p>\n Mr. Robinson is arguably the most impactful player, shoe-wise, not to have a signature line, and there is an awful amount of reasons as to why this is the case. Robinson unofficially represented Nike’s high-top silhouette craze during the ’90s. Some of Nike’s most iconic, rugged and coolest designs were worn and\/or debuted by him. High-top sneakers, such as the Nike Air Force STS<\/strong> (the first shoe he wore in the NBA), the Nike Air Max Too Strong<\/strong>, the Nike Air Unlimited<\/strong>, the Nike Air Force 180 High<\/strong>, the Nike Air Effectivity Max<\/strong> and the Nike Air Command Force<\/strong>, were synonymous with the former U.S. Navy officer, although you can make a strong case for Billy Hoyle being more tantamount to the latter. All were trailblazing basketball models, and as the informal poster child of some of these shoes, he helped create nostalgia. There’s the time he recorded 71 points in a game while wearing the Nike Air Unlimited<\/strong>, or the moment in which he did advertising for the Nike Air Force 180 High<\/strong> in the form of the “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” commercial during the early ’90s. Then, there’s one of, if not his most productive year in the league, averaging a whopping 25.6 points per game and 13 rebounds per game, while wearing the Nike Air Force V<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Robinson is also the only notable big man to have stuck with one footwear brand during his entire career, serving as the leader of the Nike Force camp since his rookie season. It goes without question that David Robinson is undoubtedly an ambassador for Nike Basketball, with or without a signature shoe line.<\/p>\n -George Kiel III<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What David Robinson was to bulky high tops is more or less what Steve Nash<\/strong> is to lows. Yes, Kobe Bryant gets credit for the mainstream movement, but Nash’s impact based on the models he propelled is an example of the strong undercurrent that runs in basketball shoe culture.<\/p>\n Epitomized by the Nike Air Jet Flight<\/strong>, Nash has endorsed a number of low top signatures from Nike Basketball that might not cause campouts, but rather inspire endless hours of eBay searches and frenzied forum fandom. His sneaker career has been somewhat of parabola, beginning by rocking low top takedowns of the Garnett 3, peaking with signature shoes such as the Zoom MVP<\/strong>, and coming back down in the latest Kobes. While stunters side with the flashy Foamposite fanbodys of today, the Day 1 Ekins and students of Professor K know Steve Nash has been putting on for the performance purists since the start.<\/p>\n25. Rasheed Wallace<\/h2>\n photo by Lisa Blumenfeld\/Getty Images via Zimbio<\/a>\n
24. Brandon Jennings<\/h2>\n photo by Ronald Martinez\/Getty Images via Zimbio<\/a>\n
23. David Robinson<\/h2>\n photo by Al Messerschmidt\/Getty Images via SI<\/a>\/Real GM<\/a>\n
22. Steve Nash<\/h2>\n photo by Noah Graham for NBAE\/Getty Images via All Ball<\/a>\n