Basketball Shoes History & Evolution Timeline
Who would not want to know about where and when the first pair of basketball shoes was created and their evolution in these years before buying one? Well, we surely can help you in knowing that! As we all know, everything present in this universe has a history. From a small tiny thing to a huge massive thing, everything has a past of how it was made and what was its first model. In the same way, the basketball shoes which have been in trend for many years have a history too.
With time, the basketball shoes got the attention of many people, not only the basketball players but people who didn’t even play basketball started to wear these shoes in their normal routine. This shows us that these shoes are not restricted to basketball players and basketball courts. Many worldwide famous shoe brands are selling these shoes because they have been in fashion for years. The main reason for these shoes being in trend for a long time is that they are light in weight which makes them comfortable enough for a person to wear.
Invention Of The Basketball Shoes
The most famous worldwide game of basketball originated in 1891. While the first basketball shoes were created in 1917. Before the invention of these shoes, there were no regulations on what type of shoes to wear on basketball courts. But after the launch of the first basketball shoes, the specifications were made and almost all the professional players owned a pair of these shoes.
After the launch of the first basketball shoes, many companies came forward with their designs and technologies. Some of the athletic shoe collections were successful and remained in trend for many years while some grabbed the attention of the people for only a short span of time.
All these years, the latest technologies were used in making these shoes to provide customized fit, comfort, better quality, support, and grip.
Let’s read the evolution made by basketball shoes in all these years:
Chuck Taylor All-Stars
Chuck Taylor All-Star was the first basketball shoe developed by a well-known shoe company known as Converse. The name of these shoes was after a basketball player who played an important role in selling these basketball shoes himself by becoming the company’s salesman. Nowadays, these shoes are called ‘Chucks’.
These shoes were simply made lightweight and comfortable enough for the players to wear and play. At that time not many features were required for the basketball shoes so these shoes gained popularity. Eventually, many players owned these shoes.
But after some time many different brands started making better basketball shoes with better features and technologies. Nike is one of the main competitors of Converse.
The Era Of the 1970s
Converse was ruling in the basketball shoe range but its competitors were making better versions of these shoes and were successful too in doing that. Nike launched its two ranges of basketball shoes named “The Blazer” and “The Nike Bruin”.
On the other hand, many other brands like Adidas, Puma, etc launched different versions and designs of these shoes too. Converse got back with a new collection of these shoes in the mid-1970s.
Superstar By Adidas
In 1970, Adidas came up with its newest collection of basketball shoes named Superstar. It was among the famous basketball shoes. These shoes were very flexible, durable, and had a high grip. Shoes having high grip play a very important role in the game of Basketball.
After being worn by NBA players (National Basketball Association), especially by Karim Abdul Jabbar for many years, these superstar shoes grabbed the attention of many other people too and became a fashion for random people.
Puma Clyde
Puma launched its first basketball shoes in 1970/71. It was named after an American basketball player Walt Clyde Frazier. Puma’s Clyde shoes are considered one of the first signature shoes in the history of basketball. On the side of these sneakers, the name of the player” Clyde” was gold scripted.
Although these shoes were not functional enough on the basketball courts, they came in fashion for the hip-hop singers, dancers, and many musician bands.
Dr. J Pro Leather
Originally launched in 1976, these shoes were made famous by a former American basketball player Julius Erving also called “Dr. J. At that time the athletic shoe companies were still working on making better shoes. In the meanwhile, Converse came up with a new line of signature shoes for Dr. J.
The design of these shoes was very unique with a capsule shape and was more resistant than the shoes launched earlier. This shoe line had different color combinations rather than the normal traditional basketball shoes.
The Era of the 1980s
By the 1980s there was major growth in the market of athletic shoes because of the increasing competition as well as the awareness among the people.
Air Force 1
Nike, in1982 launched its new collection of shoes called Air Force 1. The company’s product designer at that time, Bruce Kilgore designed it. These shoes were named after the United States’ plane “Air Force 1” in which the President flies.
It consisted of the air sole and a leather look. After being in fashion for a long time, they lost popularity because of the lack of new designs. Due to this lackness, many companies started customizing the same design due to which the brand released the Air Force series again with some amendments in 1986.
Air Jordans
Converse was the official shoe company of the National Basketball Association in 1984. Michael Jordan, a former professional basketball player signed a deal with Nike. At that time, Nike launched its new collection of running shoes called Air Soles. After the deal was signed in 1985, they named their new shoes “Air Jordans”.
Air Jordans became the most selling basketball shoes in the market for a long time. Many companies tried to compete with these shoes but remained unsuccessful. There were many reduplications of these shoes but Air Jordans remained the most popular. This line of basketball shoes is still considered the most popular and trendy shoes till date.
Ewings 33 Hi
Patrick Aloysius Ewing, after parting ways with the famous brand Adidas, launched his own signature shoe brand by the name of Ewing Athletics in 1990. He launched his very first shoe collection by the name of Ewing 33 Hi which gained popularity soon after its launch.
The Era Of the 1990s
Air Jordans were still ruling the market in the 1990s. Nike was still the top brand which now had a variety of collections for basketball shoes.
Reebok Pumps
An American clothing and footwear manufacturer, Reebok launched a series of shoes for athletes by the name Reebok pumps. The team leader of the company, Paul Litchfield created these shoes with the Pump Technology.
This technology helped in customizing the foot size in the shoes. The pump in these shoes inflated or deflated the portions in the shoe near the ankle. It helped in providing support to the foot as well as making the shoes more stable to play in.
Air Jordan 11
Air Jordan 11 was launched in 1995. These shoes were the 11th signature shoes of Michael Jordan. Nike’s designer Tinker Hatfield designed these shoes. These are still the most popular shoes from the Air Jordan series.
Air Jordan 11 shoes were designed very differently with shiny bodies and were made from patent leather. Patent leather made the shoes waterproof and also resistant to dirt. Moreover, these shoes consisted of carbon fibers because of which the shoes were light in weight providing more support.
Nike Air Foamposite
In 1997, Nike launched a new shoe range named Air Foamposite. This range consisted of two designs;
1:Nike Air Foamposite One
2:Nike Air Foamposite Pro
The company wanted to make new shoes with more durability, comfort, and better than the ones that were launched earlier. These shoes were designed in a molded shape around the foot and felt like a liquid. This design played an important role in wound prevention, comfort and better blood circulation till date.
Questions
In 1996, Reebok launched their first Allen Iverson signature shoes with the name ‘Questions’. Allen Iverson, an American former basketball player wore these shoes for a long time in his NBA matches.
Answers
The series of these shoes were launched in 1997. Reebok released these shoes with the most popular and better cushioning system. They were made in two color combinations i.e black and gold and white and red. By launching more shoes of the Answer series, the company some became more popular for its better-lacing systems, designs and comfort.
The Era of the 2000s
With time, there were many changes in the design of basketball shoes. By this time, Nike, Adidas, and Reebok ruled the market. Basketball shoes gained more and more attention from people because of the launch of many signature shoes.
Nike Shox BB4
In 2000, Nike launched its first Shox shoe which gained popularity soon after coming into the market. The reason behind its hype was that this was the first shoe to have the latest technology of Shox.
This shoe contains small compartments to provide support to the foot. Vince Carter, an American former basketball player, debuted these shoes in the 2000s Olympics due to which many people were attracted to these shoes.
Nike Air Zoom Generation
These shoes were first launched with the collaboration of Lebron James. Lebron debuted these shoes in November 2003 while playing a professional basketball game. The design of these shoes was inspired by Lebron James H2 Hummer. Nike Air Zoom Generation consisted of five colors.
Hyperdunk
Nike launched another eye-catching basketball shoe in 2008 with the name Hyperdunk. The company made these shoes with the newest flywire technology which prevented the foot slipping. Moreover, these shoes consisted of the lunar foam which provided cushioning and can handle different types of movements, intense workout exercises being one of them.
AdiZero
Adidas launched the first shoe of its new collection in 2008. These shoes were designed for fast-running athletes. An Ethiopian athlete and Olympics gold medalist, Haile Gebrselassie debuted these shoes while running in the Marathon that took place in Berlin. It provided better cushioning of the foot for the fast runners.
Lebron X
In 2012 Nike launched another line of basketball shoes by making signature shoes for Lebron James. These shoes had unique colorways with diamond color in touch. Lebron X provided a better fit, durability, support, and comfort. The folded diamond-shaped front of the shoe makes it more comfortable to wear.
All-Star Pro BB
Converse in June 2019 launched a line of basketball shoes with the name All-Star Pro BB. The main focus while making these was lightweightness and being more responsive to the sudden moves made by players during the game. All-Star Pro BB is made of rubber sole to provide more grip and prevent slipping and is made fashionable enough to wear on the basketball courts and streets.
Who made the first Basketball shoe?
A company named Converse made the first basketball shoe.
When were Basketball shoes invented?
Basketball shoes were invented in 1917.
Who has the first signature Basketball shoes?
Walt Clyde Frazier has the first signature basketball shoes.
What was the first shoe invented in the history of basketball?
Chuck Taylor All-Star is the first shoe invented in the history of basketball.
Basketball shoes have made massive changes in all these years that focused on providing their customers with more and more comfort, support, and grip to avoid slipping. Many brands have played their role in launching basketball shoes with new unique designs to grab the attention of people.
For all these years, Nike has been the main brand for athletic shoes with numerous collections and designs. Nike and Adidas are still the top shoe brands in the world. Many basketball players took part in the launch of several shoes by collaborating with the brands and launching their signature shoes.
Basketball shoes are not limited to the basketball courts but many people who don’t even watch basketball wear these shoes. Wearing these shoes has been in trend for years now and we don’t think that this trend is ending any time soon.