A Pertinent Overview Of The Evolution Of Modern Basketball Shoes

Part of understanding the modern basketball shoe market and future directions with these
shoes requires some history of where basketball shoes began.

The original basketball shoe was the Converse Non-Skids. These shoes first hit shelves in
1917 and were the precursors to the classic Chuck Taylor All-Stars that debuted in the
1920s. The vulcanized rubber sole and canvas high-top with an ankle patch were
basketball’s most popular shoe for almost 30 years. The shoe’s popularity took off when
players from the United States and many other countries wore them in the 1936
Olympics.

The Chuck Taylor All-Stars dominated the basketball shoe market until the late 1960s
when Puma and Adidas split. Adidas, in 1971, created the Superstars series. These were
fashionable and functional leather low-tops. In 1973, Puma upped the ante and hired its
first shoe spokesman, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, an NBA fashion icon and an All-Star player
for the New York Knicks. This was the first time a player’s name or nickname was on the
shoe itself. It was a low-top shoe with a suede upper and super sticky rubber soles. What I
remember most was that the suede bled into one’s socks, leaving them blue, red or black.
This was also the year that Nike put out its first basketball shoe, the Blazer, worn by
George “the Iceman” Gervin, who played in the American Basketball Association. The
Blazer was a high-top shoe with a leather upper for better ankle support. This shoe style
set off a basketball shoe arms race that continues today. This type of shoe dominated the
market until 1982 when Nike came out with its Air Force One. This was the first shoe
with Nike’s patented Air Heel technology, which made the shoe much lighter and more
cushioned.

In 1985, Air Jordan One, the signature shoe of Michael Jordan, came out and became
known for alternative shoe colors. These shoes and the Nike Dunk college series became
the standards of basketball shoes until about 2000 when the Hyperdunk model became
available. The Hyperdunk shoe was even lighter and had excellent shock absorption both
in the heel and forefoot. The Jordan brand remained popular as well and in 1997
branched out to become a subsidiary of Nike.

Other companies, like Reebok, tried to compete and break into the basketball shoe
market. In 1996, the Reebok Question was the signature shoe for Allen Iverson. This
high-top shoe incorporated Reebok’s pump technology to create an air bladder around
the ankle to provide additional support. This shoe was popular for a while but never made
a long-term dent in Nike’s market share.

In 2002, Kobe Bryant left Adidas for Nike. In 2003, the Kobe 4 was born. Bryant was a
basketball superstar and popularized the first low-top shoe. Bryant was also a huge soccer
fan, who grew up in Europe and liked the low top model. The Kobe 4 was a version of the
Nike Zoom, also worn by NBA player John Stockton, and was the signature shoe of
Andre Agassi of the tennis world. It suddenly became okay to wear a low-top shoe to play
hoops.

What made Nike a powerhouse in addition to quality shoes is the roster of athletes the
company signed to promote them. Many basketball players receive payment to wear
shoes but only 16 players have a signature shoe. Six of these 16 signature shoes are made
by Nike, four are Adidas brands, two are Under Armour, two are Michael Jordan brands,
and there is one signature shoe each for New Balance, Anta and K8iros.