Greatest Cheap Kicks of All Time

I was having a twitter convo with @RussBengtson about shoes and he brought about some interesting points. Why are people afraid to buy shoes for $70 below their original price just because they are a few months old?

The shoes Russ mentioned were these:

Nike Air Huarache 08's

First off, these are nice shoes and they once retailed for $100+ at all major retailers. But now the price has dropped to as low as $30 all because the shoes were released 8 months ago as opposed to 8 days ago. I never knew shoes depreciated faster than a Ford Explorer.

Personally, I'm a shoe whore. I have an inclination towards the signature lines sold by the major brands. My last five pair of shoes have been the CP3 II's, Lebron Solider III's, Lebron Zoom VI, KB Zoom 4, and the Air Jordan 10 Retros . Every single one of them have been comfortable on the court. The only thing that hurts from the purchase of these are my pockets. (And my eyes, but the discussion over the abomination that Nike calls 'style' these days is for another post)

This got me thinking, what are the five greatest cheap shoes to ever be released? We have to set some criteria before we go forward with this.

The shoes, first and foremost have to be good for basketball. No one wants to play in running shoes or flip flops. The last thing I want to hear is Kobe Bryant riding up on a horse to tell me I should have bought ankle insurance just as some old man named 'The Mole' crosses me up.

Second, they have to retail for under $80 from the first day they were released. All shoe prices will eventually fall back into this stratosphere, no matter how big the ego of the superstar they were designed for.

Last, they have to be from a major brand name (i.e. Nike, Reebok, Adidas, etc.). It is bad painful enough to hear how terrible your jumper is, no kid ever, EVER wants to hear how his LA Gears automatically qualify him for food stamps.

Drum roll, please...

5. Converse Chuck Taylors

Okay, so I couldn't think of a fifth pair of shoes to stick here, but everyone rocked these in the NBA back in the day. I still rock a pair today. Even though I'd never play in them, I have before (and learned a valuable lesson the hard way). I have no idea how Bill Russell grabbed all those rebounds and won all those championships in these things. But if Tupac wore these (not Ballys, that's right!!!) and the Greatest Winner of all time wore these, I have to put them up here. Plus you can pick these up from any shoe warehouse for under $20. Go ahead and buy 73 different colors for under a C-note.

4. Converse Weapons


Im an 80's baby, and I love 80's NBA. When I think of the legends that played back then the first thing that comes to mind are the Weapons. These were the bee's knees in 1986. Would I rock these? HELL YES! Who would want to wear shoes that were worn by Zeke, McHale, Bird, AND Magic? I don't even remember how cheap they sold for but I do remember my mom bought me a pair, and she used to refuse to buy me Nike. Her excuse was always the same; "your father will kill you if he found out what those cost"

3.Air Force 1's

You can't even argue against these. Not only were these cool, they were more famous than any single NBA star that wore them (Sorry Rasheed!) Everyone from P.E. teachers to Nelly and the St. Lunatics rocked these. They even had their own theme song. Now that I think of it, these might be the first pair of shoes ever to have the retail prices raise over time. "Give me two pur, give me two pur!"

2. And 1 Starburys

Dropping their first pair in 1997, Starbury and And1 changed the game. You no longer had to pay $100+ for a superstar's signature shoe line. These retailed for $79. Stephan Marbury put these guys on the map. Him and KG helped this unknown brand become one of the hottest shoe brands in the 90's. These aren't exactly the prettiest shoes, they aren't even the best And1's. These got picked simply because they were a revolution in basketball. More than just shoes, this sponsorship changed the culture of basketball worldwide. Street ball, trash talk, The Mix Tape and The Tour that came with it; all of it flooded over from the streets of the hood to the mainstream. No matter how you view street culture and its impact on the youth you have to give Steph some respect for going against the grain, turning down every major shoe sponsor and changing the game forever.

1. Adidas ProModels

The greatest Adidas basketball shoes since the Kobe's. Released in 2002 they retailed for about $70 dollars. Even LeBron James was rocking these at one point while ballin' in high school. This shoe had everything; comfort, price point, and style. Come on PATENT LEATHER! All ballers love patent leather. Although these don't live up to the Patent Leather Kings, just call them the Harold Minors of basketball shoes.

I'm sure I missed something, please feel free to tell me what shoes you used to sport in the ghetto.