{"id":470475,"date":"2015-11-03T15:10:42","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T20:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=470475"},"modified":"2019-01-23T00:39:58","modified_gmt":"2019-01-23T05:39:58","slug":"koc25-the-25-most-important-nba-players-from-a-sneaker-standpoint-25-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/koc25-the-25-most-important-nba-players-from-a-sneaker-standpoint-25-20\/","title":{"rendered":"#KOC25 \/\/ The 25 Most Important NBA Players from a Sneaker Standpoint (25-20)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Basketball is back, but who has been making waves in Kicks On Court<\/strong> since way, way back? Much like last year, we’re counting down the 25 most important NBA players ever from a sneaker standpoint. Retooled, re-listed and remastered, check out our picks below and look for the countdown to continue with five more players each day.<\/p>\n Select imagery by Getty Images via Zimbio<\/em><\/p>\n Rocking retros to hoop in may be the norm in 2015, 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 at 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 Images by Getty Images via Zimbio<\/em><\/p>\n Hate it or love it, Under Armour<\/strong> is a major player in the basketball footwear game. While the brand made headlines two summers ago for almost stealing away Kevin Durant from the Swoosh only to follow it up with Stephen Curry’s signature debut during an MVP season, 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 Select imagery via Pivot World 9<\/a>, All Hip Hop<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0IMG Arcade<\/a><\/em><\/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>\n25. Rasheed Wallace<\/h2>\n
24. Brandon Jennings<\/h2>\n
23. David Robinson<\/h2>\n