Top 10 Basketball Kicks of the 1990's

A lot sucks about the timing of my birth. Born in 1985, I missed all the great music of the 70's and was too young to be interested in the early 90's grunge boon as it developed. The hilariously offensive television programming pioneered in the mid-70's (lead by Belushi, Murray, and the like headlining the original SNL cast in 1975) slowly gave way to a stuffy, politically correct society overseen by Tipper Gore and the Clinton administration. And then, there's this recession thing going on right now. As Wayne Campbell said of the Suck-Cut invention in 1992's Wayne's World, "It certainly does suck!"

Don't get me wrong, though. The 90's weren't all bad. In addition to Al Gore inventing the internet, and the emergence of both R.L. Stine's Goosebumps and pogs, one thing that did not suck was the abundance of incredibly stylish - and expensive - basketball sneakers.  Let's take a gander at the best of the best from the "Golden Age of Kicks." You can find the list after the jump.

Note: only one of any given player's shoe line is allowed on list

10. Spalding Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon, 1994-95)
While not the most stylish of shoes, the Dreams sent the right message. Sold at Wal-Mart and priced on the low side of $50, the Dreams made for those less fortunate; a lesson Hakeem no doubt learned as he grew up in Nigeria, surrounded by poverty. When asked about the abnormally low price for a perennial All-Star's shoe, Hakeem replied, “How can a poor working mother with three boys buy Nikes or Reeboks that cost $120? She can’t. So kids steal these shoes from stores and from other kids. Sometimes they kill for them.” In an era of increasingly pricey athletic wear, Olajuwon proved success lay in one's performance and not their gear, as he won two championships and an MVP in the Dreams.

9. Fila Ninety6 (Grant Hill, 1996-97)
Similar to Dwayne Wade's decision out of Marquette to sign with underdog Converse while his peers signed with more conventional lines, Grant Hill bucked the popular trend when the can't miss stud out of Duke signed a contract with Italian brand Fila.  The immediate popularity of the previously unknown brand (at least to American basketball enthusiasts) reinforced the marketing power of the professional athlete.  

8. Adidas KB8 (Kobe Bryant, 1997-98)
Entering the NBA as the youngest player in league history in 1996, Kobe was an instant trend setter. From becoming the first guard to enter the league out of high school, to his mini-fro, to his decision to sign with Adidas - a brand that, at the time, was more associated with soccer than basketball - Kobe was the hottest youngster in the league. His cutting-edge image was further enhanced by the second release in his Adidas line, the KB8. Due to it's prominent, almost bubble-like outsole (the gaudy outsole was a prominent characteristic for 90's kicks), the KB8 boasts one the most original designs to date for any basketball shoe, and was the toast of Kobe's Adidas line until he parted ways with the brand in 2002.

7. Nike Air Zoom Flight 95 (Jason Kidd, 1995-96)

The unquestionable success of their Max Air concept allowed Nike to explore other methods of inclusion for their trademark Air technology. In came Zoom Air. In first subtracting the air pockets from the Max Air series, Nike then placed its main focus on making the Zoom models light as possible resulting in the line developing into the sneaker of choice for speedy backcourt players such as Kidd. The Zoom Air line remains one of the most popular models to this day, worn by the likes of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

6. Reebok Pump (Dee Brown, 1990-91)
You can't think of Dee Brown or the Slam Dunk Contest without recalling the Pump. Reebok didn't possess much of the NBA endorsement market share in the early 90's, but the Pump gave the brand an identity. The act of pumping up the shoe added little to its functionality, but it looked cool as hell.  In addition to providing Reebok notoriety, the Pump made a considerable cultural impact (it was featured as one of a handful of objects signifying the future in the first Austin Powers, so you know it's good), and might be the most memorable basketball shoe of the 90's.

5. Nike Air Uptempo 96 (Various, 1995-96)

One of the most difficult decisions in composing this list was selecting which of the Uptempo line to include. The in-your-face "AIR" graphic along each side of the shoe coupled with a prominent air pocket (a staple of the Uptempo line) outlining the outsole makes for an almost futuristic design. One can't go wrong with any version of the Air Uptempo, but the  flashiness of the '96 model places it a cut above the rest.

4. Nike Air Pippen I (Scottie Pippen, 1997-98)
Just as Pippen's playing career will always be somewhat overshadowed by Jordan's (although not to the extent some people feel; when you play with the greatest player of all time, it's expected you are overlooked at times), so was his sneaker game. Prior to the 97-98 season, Pippen went without a signature shoe, freelancing with the held of the Jordan and Nike Air Uptempo lines. After the Bulls' return to glory in '96 following Jordan's two year hiatus, Nike finally rewarded Pippen with his own line.

3. Reebok The Question (Allen Iverson, 1996-97)

Beginning with the Air Jordan I's debut in 1985, Nike continued to dominate the basketball sneaker landscape into the 90's. Since Celtic guards Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson defected from the Nike brand to sign with Reebok in 1982, followed by Dee Brown's pimping of the Pumps in the '91 Dunk Contest, Reebok had been lacking the necessary star power to promote its line. The answer to their problem came in the form of Allen Iverson's The Question.  Distinguished by it's "hexalite" pockets on the outsole and the lettered eyelets, the otherwise stripped down design became an instant classic and, due to it's frequent reissues (and even a low top version), remains a popular design even to this day.

2. Nike Air Penny II (Penny Hardaway, 1996-97)
Although Penny's promising career is sometimes forgotten due to an astounding series of injuries, his run with Nike - and Lil' Penny - is one of the all-time great sneaker campaigns.  One could make a case for any of the Air Penny's finding their way onto this prestigious list, but I have to put the II's at the head of the class.


1. Jordan XI (Michael Jordan, 1995-96)
Touted as the kicks you could ball in by day, and rock with a tuxedo by night (the tux actually served as Nike's inspiration for the design), the Jordan XI's remain the standard by which all basketball footwear is judged.  Their sleek and sexy style, combined with the fact Jordan rocked the shoes during the Bulls' record-setting 72 win season, make the XI's the toast of the Jordan brand.