Bball shoe

The History of Basketball Shoes

By doverisstudent

  • The first basketball shoe

    The first basketball shoe
     1921–1960's: The Original Chuck Taylor dominated the basketball scene for over 40 years. The canvas sneaker with rubber soles is the all-time best selling sneaker at over 500 million pairs sold and counting. It wasn't until leather debuted on basketball sneakers in the 60's did the canvas Chucks began its decline.

  • The first Puma basketball shoe

    The first Puma basketball shoe
     Early to mid 1970's: Puma made a splash in the League. Clyde Frasier was among one of the first to have his own 'signature' shoe with his Puma low-tops.

  • The Puma Splash

    The Puma Splash
     Early to mid 1970's: Puma made a splash in the League. Clyde Frasier was among one of the first to have his own 'signature' shoe with his Puma low-tops.

  • The Air Jordan

    The Air Jordan
     1990–1993: Air Jordans dominated the scene. Everyone wanted the latest pair as they represented the pinnacle of basketball shoes. From the black shoe hysteria of the '89 Bulls Playoff run; to the clear soles & reflective tongue V's; to Mars Blackman's "DoYouKnowDoYouKnowDoYouKnow" and "It's Gota Be Da Shoes"; to Bugs Bunny; the sneaker scene was all about the Air Jordan. The mystic behind the legend and the icon not only conquered market share but also went global after the Barcelona games.

  • Adidas returns

    Adidas returns
     1998: Adidas finally returned to the basketball segment with the signing of Kobe Bryant. Success of early Kobe "Feet You Wear" models led to the eventual creation of the Audi TT inspired The Kobe that proved the 3-Stripes had what it takes to compete with the big dogs.