7/30/2019 Big Shoe Timeline Edit

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How shoes popularized Basketball

MagicandBirdloadedup

withthe Converse Weap-

ons to develop the

rivalry that'saved' the

NBA.Many argue that

withoutthe massive

media attentionthatwas

placedon the rivalry,the

NBA mightnothave made

itthroughthe 1980s.

Insteadof justone

signature shoe converse

shookthings up a bitby

giving a signature shoe to

multiple players withthe

colors of the show

defining the team.People

couldnowget shows that

representedthere

favorite players colors.

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world because you only need three things to

play a hoop, a ball, and a pair of sturdy basketball shoes. Some may argue that you may not need

the shoes to play, but in the case of the nba, shoes may have been the one thing that made it what

it is today. Of course it was not only the shoes that made basketball popular, it was also the

players that endorsed and created the shoes. The players are what made the shoes the coolest

things you could wear on the basketball court. Which shoes and players are responsible for cre-

ating the frenzy that we now see today in the NBA? To answer this question We are going to take a

step back into time to examine some of the most iconic basketball shoes ever created as well as

the players that made them popular.

The OriginalChuckTaylor dominatedthe basketballscene for over 40

years.The canvas sneaker withrubber soles is the all-time best selling

sneaker atover 500 millionpairs soldand counting.Itwasn'tuntil

leather debutedonbasketball sneakers inthe 60's didthe canvas

Chucks beganits decline.Chucks are stillworn to this day,but notby

basketballplayers.The originalshoes have beenpassed downfrom

generationto generation to define there look.Itis s omewhatstrange

thata shoe thatis so richinbasketballhistory is nowwornby hipsters

inevery imaginable style andcolor walking down the street.

1921 - 1960s

Clyde frazier was renownedfor his style bothonand off thecourt.This type of attentioninspiredPuma to give Clyde his

ownsignature shoewiththe inceptionof the Puma Clyde in

1973.Justlike Clyde himself,the Puma Clyde is equally atease

onand off the court.The Puma Clyde has become one of the

mostrecognizable andrestyledshoes in history.This original

signature Shoe inspiredother companies to create signature

shoes for players to gainattentionandpopularity.Following

insimilar fashionas the chucks the clydes canstillbe seenon

the streettoday ina variety of colors andm aterials and

almostexclusively representthe style of artists,DJs,b-boys,

musicians andgraffitiartists.

Early to mid1970s Mid to late 1970s 1983 1984-1993 19941989 1996 1998

Air Force 1 debuts as the firstNike basketballshoe with anair sole. The Air technol-

ogy differentiatedNike fromrest of the competitionandpropelled the company tobecome the industry's leader,a positionthat Nike stillholds to this day.This shoe

marks the beginning of a newera of shoes and players.This shoe also inspiredthe

firstsignature of the greatestplayer of alltime.

One mandominatedbasketball andgave shoes the kindof popularity we see today.Without

MichaelJordan's influence onthe game,we wouldn'tbe here today.The Iconis the sole

reasonwhy allof this is evenpossible. He is the one athlete no one has a problemcalling the

Greatestof AllTime.This symbolis probably the mostrecognizable symbolin basketballand

possibly across allsports.Years and years of marketing andso far unsurpassedgreatness

have amountedto the mostdominate brandinbasketball. Since its introductioninto the

sports shoe market,the Air Jordan's globalpopularity has grown immensely,providing Nike

withits all-time top-selling signature basketballshoe.Part of the greatsuccess is due to

the many styles andcolor schemes thatcontinue to be offeredby the Air Jordan. Today

JordanBrandreleases many differentmodels of shoes suchas ModernBasketballs hoes,Training Shoes,CasualShoes andthrow backs.Even thoughhe is retiredI thinkitis safe to

say thatjordans legacy willlive onthroughhis shoes.

Converse All star Puma Converse - weapon nike - Air Force 1 Air jordans nike -Air Max Barkleyreebok -pumps reebok- Iverson adidas - kobe

Proclaimedas the greatestrebounder in the history of the NBA,Charles

Barkley is also a pop culture iconno one canforget.Along with his game,

Charles Barkley also hadan iconicshoe line producedby Nike.Barkley's

signature shoes became the flagship of Nike's lineup at nearly $150,

surpassing Air Jordan's interms of price,technology,design,functional-

ity andpopularity.He couldnever keep up withmichael,buthis shoes

definitely helpedpromote himandthe sport.

Iverson's originalQuestions putReebokbackinto basket-

ballcontention.Arguably the bestReebok basketball

shoes ever made.AllenIverson,with his tattoos andcorn

rows Iversonappealedto a newgenerationof NBA fans.

WhenIversonplayed GeorgetownUniversity he was

nicknamedthe Answer.So,Whenhe turnedpro withthe

76ers,Reebokreleased his signature shoe andappropri-

ately calleditthe Question.Iversonwore the shoes his

rookie year andwent downinhistory whenhe putcross-

over move onJordanthat froze himinhis tracks.These

shoes andthatmove really symbolizedthatIverson was

the answer to a newyounger era of basketballandstyle.

Adidas returnedto the basketballsegment withthe

signing of Kobe Bryant.Success of early Kobe "FeetYou

Wear" models ledto the eventualcreationof the AudiTT

inspiredshoe thatprovedthe 3-Stripes hadwhatit takes

to compete withthe big big names.Since thenKobe has

made the switchover to Nike andis stillconsideredone

of the mostdominantplayers inthe nba.Kobe really

marks the endof the older era and the beginning of the

newera.

The war for basketballmarket share betweenReebokandNike inthe late 80's and early 90's was heating up.Reebok

struckbackagainst Air by releasing The Pump.The innovative

technology allowedair to be pumpedinto the shoe by press-ing repeatedly onanorange basketball.Reeboks Advance-

ments inshoe technology keptthem afloatinthe basketball

marketand eventually influencedthe designof AllenIver-

sons signature kicks.

These are the players that really sparked the shoe revolution, and concreted bask

of the best sports of all time. I would hate to think what would have happend to Pr

basketball if these players did not step up? What I do know is that shoes and baskewill continue to develop. All of the players that follow these players owe them a d

tude for paving the way for basketball and the signature shoes that it seems like a

player in the nba now has.