23. David Robinson
photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images via SI/Real GMNo signature, no problem.
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 – 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.
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 (the first shoe he wore in the NBA), the Nike Air Max Too Strong, the Nike Air Unlimited, the Nike Air Force 180 High, the Nike Air Effectivity Max and the Nike Air Command Force, 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, or the moment in which he did advertising for the Nike Air Force 180 High 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.
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.
-George Kiel III
