We're counting down the greatest basketball sneakers in NBA history. Our #NBArank panel of sneakerheads rated dozens of shoes. The result is our Top 30 list. Today, we unveil No. 1.
All-Time Kicks
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-30 | Honorable mentions
Air Jordan XI
Year of release
1995
Players who wore 'em
Michael Jordan
Highlight play
Basically a whole season of highlights.
The sneaker
Concords. Space Jams. 72-10s. Breds. Rarely has one sneaker produced so many iconic colorways, but that's just part of the appeal of the Air Jordan XI, the shoe our expert panel deemed to be the greatest of all time. It was the shoe on Michael Jordan's foot when he led the Bulls to a then-record 72 wins and finished the job by securing his fourth of six rings. Would the XI be as fondly remembered if it hadn't been so closely associated with the greatest season ever (72 wins, All-Star MVP, regular-season MVP, Finals MVP, NBA title)? Maybe not, but the sneaker and the moment are forever linked by history as defining greatness. -- Adam Reisinger
Full list
If you want to get involved in the discussion or follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along with @ESPNNBA as we count down the 30 best kicks ever.