Simple canvas basketball shoes dominated the sport until the 1960s, when leather appeared on the market. The 1980s saw many technological advancements in basketball shoes, when companies such as Nike, Reebok and Adidas released shoes with new air-sole technology. Companies began designing custom shoe lines for NBA players.
Converse
Converse introduced its first basketball shoe, the Converse All Star, in 1917. In 1921, basketball player Charles H. Taylor endorsed the shoes, which became known as Chuck Taylors. These simple canvas and rubber shoes dominated the market until the 1960s. The U.S. Olympic basketball team wore Converse All Stars at the 1936 Berlin Games when basketball made its Olympic debut.
Early Nike Shoes
In 1972, Nike introduced its first basketball shoe, a leather shoe called the Blazer. This remained the company's only basketball shoe until the early 1980s, when it introduced new designs, including the Gamebreaker, the Legend, the Dynasty and the 3-Pointer. Nike offered low-top and high-top versions of each shoe, all made with leather, leather and canvas or leather and mesh, except for the all-canvas 3-Pointer.
Nike Air Technology
In 1982, Nike introduced the Air Force 1 basketball shoe, named after the president's private airplane. The shoe featured Bruce Kilgore's air-sole technology, with a cushioning pocket of air in the heel. Nike released its first Michael Jordan-inspired shoe, the Air Jordan I, in 1985. The NBA objected to the shoe's bold black and red colors, and soon banned it from competition. The Nike Air Jordan II, Air Jordan AJKO and Air Force II Hi all appeared on the market in 1986. The Air Jordan I and II shoes both featured the classic wings logo. Nike released the Air Jordan III in 1988. This shoe featured the Jumpman logo and an air unit on the heel. The ad campaign for the Air Jordan III featured Spike Lee. Nike's basketball shoes went on to become popular style icons. Jay-Z and Nelly have both worn the Air Force I, according to the New York Times.
Competitors
In the late 1980s, several companies began to compete with Nike's basketball shoes. In 1986, Adidas released the Adidas Attitude, a signature shoe designed for Knicks center Patrick Ewing. In 1989, Reebok released the Pump, a shoe with an air unit on the heel that players could pump up by squeezing a miniature basketball on the shoe.
References
- Kicks Guide: Basketball Shoes History
- SneakerFiles: Nike Basketball History and Time Line
- SneakerHead: Evolution of Nike Air Jordan Shoes
- Nice Kicks: Original Adidas Attitude Ewing
- Converse Store: Converse History
- New York Times; The Nike Air Force 1 Sneaker Turns 25 Years Old; Fred Bierman; December 2007
Member Comments