Ian Stonebrook- Staff Writer
10. Under Armour Micro G Juke White/Black
A love of playing basketball birthed a love of sneakers. Since going head over heels for the Zoom Kobe V no performance shoe has stacked up quite the same. These are close. The Kemba kicks are ?Concord?-esque in color blocking and could draw Question comparisons based on what Walker does on court.
9. Air Jordan 5 ?Wolf Grey?
I?d like to apologize to the size 11 that missed out on the restock because I bought these before the post went live. I?m sorry, it won?t happen again. It took a LaMarcus rocking and an online re-up for me to tap out and cop the ?Golf Wrey? 5s. These aren?t a shorts wear for me so I waited all the way ?til fall to un-DS these.
8. Nice Kicks x New Balance 1500
If you haven?t had the NK x NB 1500s on your feet then you don?t know. Matt?s engineered some strong collabs in the past but this 500E inspired makeup is his finest and most mature. The comfort’s unparalleled and the 3M flash retires any grandpa gripes.
7. Nike Free Prototype Golf Shoe for Tiger Woods
If you find yourself drinking champagne in your hood with Tiger Woods ask him when these come out. Since this year started golf has become one of my favorite pastimes and since posting these I?ve always wanted them just as much as I?ve always wanted to say for-shizzle.
6. adidas EQT Zero ?Infrared?
A lot of shoes get stares at summits, but what?s breaking necks at Costco? Of all the shoes I?ve ever worn none have provoked more questions from complete strangers and otherwise non-sneakerheads. Infrared?s never taken an L on any shoe (Ok, maybe that Spizike) and is best when abundant. The 3M branding was perfect, the speed lacing was advanced, and these got it done as a runner. Thanks adidas.
5. LDRS x adidas Forum Mid Moccasin
These are dancing shoes. Bust out a MJ kick or TL heel tap and the fringe will go crazier than the girls on the floor. Ty and co. are ahead of the pack on these.
4. Nike Air Huarache Free BBall
Anyone that ever wanted to free ball got their chance with this quickstrike. My love of the Fab 5 despite my alma mater ties made these a must more than the “Concords”. Thanks to Britney for hooking these up and thanks to Nike for bringing these back in a fresh and functional way.
3. Air Jordan 6 ?True Blue? Custom
The ?True Blues? 3s are one of my favorite sneakers ever and one of my top pickups this year. It?s the one shoe I won?t get dirty, the one shoe that looks good on everyone I seen in them, and for some reason I always wear these to church. With that said I like these customs better. This year broke a lot of boundaries and previous misconceptions on painted pairs thanks to juxtaposed Jordan colorways. I loved a lot of them, but this one by El Cappy is my favorite and one I?d love to wear.
2. Ronnie Fieg x Asics ?Mint Leaf?
Thanks to Krovy Bryant and Metta World Fieg I have one of my favorite shoes of the year. They?re loud yet rich, look great with shorts or jeans, and girls dig ?em too.
1. Nike Mag
One of the first big stories I got to work on was the original patent leak that Dime dug up. A year later, Allison told us Matt was going out to LA for a top-secret Nike trip that?d be the biggest story of the year. We don?t keep a lot of secrets in the Nice Kicks office so we knew this was big. While we all had our guesses as to what it was, no one expected the magnitude, timing, and speed of this Mag release. There?s no shade on this retro-super future sneaker as the launch was perfectly planned and all the money went to a great cause. Nike didn?t have to do this but they did and as the grandson of a loving Mamaw that suffers from Parkinson?s this meant a lot to me. Thanks to all the bidders and Nike for making it happen.
