If 2019 taught us anything, it’s that you can never have too many sneakers. How could you with a great new pair dropping seemingly every week?
It was a great year for sneaker tech innovations like Nike’s Joyride foam and the first widely available automatic lacing shoe. On top of that, there were a ton of killer collaborations with pop culture icons from Star Wars to Friends. And that’s just talking nerdy – sneaker enthusiasts at large were also treated to a ton of gems, from the return of the Bred Air Jordan 4s and 11s to Reebok making a serious play at bringing back a bunch of classic Alan Iverson signature sneakers (the upcoming grey and red colorways are especially killer).
It’s hard to narrow down the best of the best with so many killer colorways, silhouettes, and innovations dropping in 2019, but we’ve done our best to narrow them down to the ten best. Here are the best sneakers of 2019.
Nike Zoom Freak 1 ‘Coming to America’
Photo Credit: Foot Locker
There’s something especially appealing about a handshake colorway, which is to say a sneaker that pays homage to something you love in a way that’s subtle enough as to not be too ostentatious. The people who see it and recognize it for what it is know, and the two of you share a sly psychic high-five (or a real one, depending on the interaction). Anybody else just sees it as a dope shoe, which is just as good. The Nike Zoom Freak 1 made waves earlier this year as the newest signature basketball sneaker in Nike’s roster, but no colorway made as much noise as the Coming to America edition. Sporting a fly leopard-print upper and big, fuzzy tongues with the movie’s logo, it’s the perfect pop culture homage in sneaker form.
You can buy the Nike Zoom Freak 1 in other colorways here.
Nike SB Dunk High ‘Space Jam’
Photo Credit: StockX
It’s hard to think of a more iconic sneaker movie than Space Jam. It features the debut of the now-legendary Air Jordan 11 ‘Space Jam’ with its slick black colorway, patent leather, and tasteful blue accents. While you may have to wait a while to catch the next re-release of the shoe, this year saw the debut of the next best thing: a high-top Nike Dunk in a colorway inspired by the legendary Air Jordan from the film.
Nike PG3 NASA
Photo Credit: StockX
Okay, it’s hard to pick a single shoe from this collaboration, as it proved to be a highlight of 2019 at large and covered multiple shoes and apparel pieces. But if we had to pick a single shoe, it’d have to be these white and gold joints released back in April.
You can buy the Nike PG3 in other colorways here.
Nike Adapt Sneakers
Photo Credit: StockX
Again, it’s hard to pick a single shoe from this lineup, especially as it spans multiple shoes. At the risk of this spot seeming like a cop-out, we won’t even try. The number 7 slot belongs to Nike Adapt tech becoming widely available for the first time. The dream of auto-lacing sneakers has become a reality and is available in shoes like the Nike Adapt BB (pictured here in a dope and appropriate Back to the Future colorway) and classic silhouettes like the Huarache.
Nike Kyrie 6
Photo Credit: Foot Locker
This one is pretty new, hence its lower ranking on the list, but man, the Nike Kyrie 6 is a beauty. We’ve been big fans of the 5 all year, but it looks like the heir to its throne is plenty worthy. There’s no telling which cartoons or conspiracy theories will inspire colorways for this one in 2020, but whatever they may be, they’re sure to make for the weirdest, wildest shoes in the game.
Adidas Harden 4 ‘Star Wars’
Photo Credit: Foot Locker
The adidas Star Wars line ranged from a couple of Attack of the Clones-level duds (sorry, that Dame 5 needed work) to some mad solid Ultra Boosts inspired by X-wings. Near the top of the pile, though (“near” being the key word here) is the Harden Vol. 4 inspired by Mace Windu’s iconic purple lightsaber. The Harden Vol. 4 is probably the dopest signature sneaker of its namesake yet and the purple-printed colorway has made for the best we’ve seen in its short tenure on the court.
Adidas Alphaedge 4D ‘Death Star’
Photo Credit: StockX
Like we said, “near” the top of the list. Adidas’s 4D soles (created via 3D printer from ultra-lightweight materials) are some of the wildest sneaker innovations in the game right now and this sneaker, which draws subtle inspiration from the Death Star, is the cream of the crop when it comes to the brand’s plentiful Star Wars offerings in 2019.
Reebok Alien Stomper
Photo Credit: StockX
Okay, yes, Space Jam is probably the most iconic sneaker movie of all time, but that doesn’t mean the Jordan 11 featured in that movie is the only great movie sneaker. In fact, for a while there, the Reebok Alien Stomper was probably even more covetable. It received a very limited release in 2016 and it seemed like from there it may never return. That all changed this year when Reebok released a new edition of the iconic Alien Stomper. Made of high-quality materials, it remains an all-time great movie shoe that’s now far more readily available than ever before.
Nike Kyrie 5 ‘Squidward’
Photo Credit: StockX
Oh, what a moment this was. The Nike Spongebob pack was probably the single greatest geek-sneaker highlight of the year. Spanning six shoes and a killer apparel pack, it’s hard to pick a favorite. But at the end of the day, we’ve gotta give it to the Kyrie 5 ‘Squidward’. Aside from being a perfect tribute to everyone’s favorite prickly undersea neighbor, it functions perfectly as a cool shoe devoid of context. It was always going to be a hard sneaker to dethrone from the top spot from the minute it dropped. Unfortunately, a sneaker eventually came around and did just that…
You can buy the Nike Kyrie 5 in other colorways here.
New Balance OMN1s
Photo Credit: Foot Locker
Okay, we’re breaking the rules again here: there’s nothing inherently geeky about the New Balance OMN1s. There are no cutting edge tech innovations and it hasn’t had the chance to cross over with any pop culture properties yet. Still, it remains one of the most notable sneakers of the year. New Balance finally reentered the basketball game this year with NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard by their side. In February, he debuted his first new signature shoe at the NBA All-Star game: the New Balance OMN1s.
This high-top basketball sneaker sports clean design and killer functionality. New Balance proceeded to release the shoe in a series of limited drops over the course of the year, with it only just recently becoming more widely available. As they did, Kawhi continued to make waves, dropping the most iconic basketball play of the year in the shoes and eventually winning the Toronto Raptors their first NBA championship (right before leaving for the Los Angeles Clippers, who he plays for now).
Kawhi was the basketball player of 2019. The basketball world is right at the center of sneaker culture. Erego, we’ve gotta give it up for the New Balance OMN1s. Sometimes all it takes is a great shoe with a great story, not loud colorways or cartoon characters printed on the side. Sneaker geeks everywhere know what’s up with this one and we can’t wait to see where 2020 takes it.
More on Geek.com:
- Adidas Unveils Final Star Wars Capsule of 2019
- Best Sneakers of 2019 (So Far) for Sneaker Geeks
- Best Sneakers of Summer 2019
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