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What is the Best Basketball Sneaker from the 90’s?

The Air More Uptempo from Nike is one of the best sneakers from its era – that era being the 90’s – and when I saw this ‘Gym Red’ colorway of the Uptempo, I knew I had to pickup a pair for myself.

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Its easily of my favorite sneakers from the 90’s but that leads me to ask this question: What is the best basketball sneaker from the 90’s?

Share your thoughts on what the best basketball sneaker from the 90’s is in the comments section below or on social media with the #WearTesters.

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25 comments
  1. although the J11’s have become a real icon and must have shoe for sneakerheads, I must say that the best “basketball” sneaker in the 90s has to be the Air More Uptempo. actually, I find any iteration of the Uptempos were amazing. they were a great continuation and upgrade for the CBs and Airmax 2 BBs.

  2. I think for the time and price the Nike Air Go LWP has to be the best shoes of the 90’s. It was a relative bargain it looked nice and featured the debut of Zoom Air in basketball. I think 93 was the debut year.
    Aesthetically the nod has to go to the Question. The Jordan 11 is nice but it doesn’t take colors well (red, blue, green, etc) IMO.

  3. Air GO LWP. Light. Zoom air. Good grip. Released in the 94-95 season. My retros are still better than alot of shoes now. The laces come undone.

  4. Nike Air Zoom Flight 98, Reebok Questions, adidas Real Deal. A bit bulky, and nothing too LOUD on the eyes.

    But I agree on the designs extending to the mid-sole like the Crazy 8’s – sooo 90’s

  5. I love the zoom in the nike models back then like the flight 95’s, the gloves etc… Very rare that you get that feeling in shoes now a days. The FYW Adidas shoes are awesome too my personal favorite from the 90’s is the Real Deal — S/O to Antoine Walker’s immortal shimmy– but the one I always wanted but never could get are the 12’s and Penny 2’s. Always heard great things about them.

  6. So hard to pick just one. That’s my youth right there. Back when my knees and feet didn’t kill me all the time. Also there are several that I couldn’t afford but ultimately bought after the fact (Jordan XI, More Uptempos, etc…). For whatever reason I never got any Fila’s back in the day.

    Back then my favorites to play in no question:
    Penny 2
    Jordan 13

    Honorable mentions
    Adidas Crazy 1 (Classic)
    Adidas Crazy 2 (Underrated)
    Nike Air Uptempo 97 (Closest I got back in the day to the More Uptempo’s)
    Nike Air Max 2 CB34 (First shoe I bought with my own money)
    Nike Penny 4 (Awesome until the strap broke)
    Reebok Pump Vertical l (Blue Chips shoe)
    Reebox Question (Classic)
    Converse All Star Rodman (Not great but not bad for a clearance shoe)

    Dishonorable Mentions (my family was poor)
    L.A Gear Shoes (Some with Flak. Some with Lights)
    Payless Shoes (DON’T PLAY IN THESE. THEY WILL CRIPPLE YOU)

  7. There were so many awesome kicks. I was always a Pippen fan for its simple clean looks, but also loved the Penny series that were pretty outrageous at the time. But there was one shoe that caught my eye back then and still today plus they are easily available as they keep making and that’s the Adidas Kobe 8 or Crazy 8; the black and white or All Star colorway is a classic.

  8. – Jordan 12
    – Air Penny 2 and 4
    – Zoom Flight 96
    – EQT Elevation

    These would be my picks

  9. 1. Converse All-Star 2000.(I wore multiple pairs for 5 straight years(from 1997-2002), if they release again, even without REACT-JUICE(it will need that Canvas uppers then though), I’d still wear ’em…. forever).

    2. Converse Aero Jam(it needs the REACT, and fat-padding, the ‘remastered’ won’t do, skinny, non-cushioned hurts my feelings, and my feet).

    3. Reebok Shaq Attaq 1.

    4. adidas REAL DEAL 2.

    5. Jordan XIV.

  10. 1 Nike 180 force pump
    2 Nike air force 180 barkley
    3 Reebok Double Pumps ( Human Highlight )
    4 Nike Air Ballistic Force hi
    5 Converse Aero Jam ( Gran Ma Ma )

  11. air more uptempos without a doubt could be THE shoe that reflects the 90s but i was more blown-away or impressed with other shoes namely:

    1. shake ndestruct – side lacing and the big ass swoosh.
    2. penny 2 – nuff said.
    3. converse destroyer and kamikaze – spiked design!
    4. an asics shoe that didnt have any tongue.
    5. maestros: pip’s red mvp shoe and the chinese national teams weapon of choice when they beat my country during the ASIAN games.

    jordans will always be popular so id pick the unheralded models over them.

    i guess most of our picks would center around the time that we started getting more involved in the nba product. mine was when pip was killing the league and mj returned.

  12. Shake NDestrukt hands down… But Zoom Flight V, Zoom T-Bug, Air Max Uptempo 97, Flightposite, Air Worm, Foamposite, Jumpman Pro, and Jordan XIIs. 90s was the golden era for looks and performance. And the kicks I mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg.

  13. Reebok Kamikaze 1
    Fila Grant Hill 1
    Fila Stack 1

    I had those in 3 consecutive seasons, and absolutely loved all 3 of them. Especially the Kamikaze. The design was so crazy, and they were comfortable. The Stackhouse’s were beasts too, loved playing in those.

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