Stay Up On Game

Who’s the best? Jordan, Kobe, or LeBron?

So who’s the best? Would you take Mike’s smarts? Kobe’s will? LeBrons power? 

A nice turn-around jumper? How about a clean fade-away? Why not power-dribble to a get out my way dunk?

Too bad the debate I’m talking about is about shoes. Nike has a history of producing some of or should i say “THE” greatest kicks on the market. They sign the top names in the game to produce signature lines that people line-up for and die to possess.

Now comes the debate. Who is the best? Jordan? Kobe? or LeBron?

Well Jordan has a long list of shoes the have changed the game. Starting with the Air Jordan I’s which were banned due to the color scheme not being solid white. Jordan signed with Nike and developed his own Jordan brand. His shoes have been something over the years that people fought over, camped out for, lived with the lights and water off for, and even spent their rent for. Jordan has produced a very successful line of stylish yet comfortable pair of sneakers year in and year out. My favorites have to be Jordan I’s just because i had a pair as a baby and like to keep to the classics. The 3’s, 6’s, 7’s, 10’s. 11’s and 16’s are my top Jordan’s. Style wise the Jordan numbered series started to fall off after the 17’s were put out. Comfort wise they have stayed consistent as a well performing basketball shoe. I personally wouldn’t wear the shoes to play in unless i had an extra pair to beat up on the court. Which is kind of why Jordan decided to put out the Team Jordan line to give a well performing basketball shoe that you wouldn’t feel bad breaking down knowing they were mass produced and you could get another pair. From numbers 1-17 i give the Jordan signature line a 5 star rating in terms of style and 4 stars in terms of performance. 18-23 style wise would get 3 stars and performance wise 3 1/2. just because they tended to get clunkier and less attractive.

Now on to the Black Mamba aka Kobe. Kobe started out different than Jordan and LeBron in terms of his sneaker career. Kobe started out with Adidas which produced a classic sneaker in the KB8 aka Crazy 8’s and ended his stint with Adidas in 2 pairs of moon boot-like car inspired sneakers. Adidas provided Kobe with solid money as a rookie and tried to use him as their way to propel their basketball brand past Nike but it all in all didn’t pan out. Sales were high on his sneakers with Adidas but the style and comfort factor weren’t appealing to customers and Kobe knew that. Kobe signed with Nike which was not a surprise and put out a nice pair pair of Kobe 1’s which were an instant hit and had sneaker heads and collectors gaining respect for Kobe in terms of his shoes. The Kobe 2’s were a decent shoe yet a little heavier than the Kobe 1’s and Nike produced a Strength version of the shoe which turned out to be the more popular of the 2 models and better. The Kobe 3’s were a ugly mess. Touted to many to be a comfortable and supportive basketball shoe. The Kobe 3’s were not appealing style wise at all. Before releasing the Kobe 4’s, Nike decided to unveil its new flywire technology on a pair of shoes called the Hyperdunks. Who better to to catapult this venture then Kobe of course. All it took was a speeding Aston Martin and the shoes became instant hits. The Hyperdunk is possibly one of Nike’s best basketball shoes ever made. Then here came the Kobe 4’s which have changed the perception of basketball shoes completely. Due to ankle injuries being a top injury in basketball many companies hesitated to produce low-cut performance basketball sneakers. Kobe decided to sell ankle insurance aka the low-cut Kobe 4’s and flip the attention of broke ankles to the people that don’t have the Kobe 4’s. The Kobe 4’s are a low cut stable yet lightweight quality shoe. The sleek style and nice colorways made this a great shoe for collectors and players. Kobe’s most recent shoe the Kobe 5’s played off of the great success of the Kobe 4’s and kept the low top going. The Kobe 5’s are even lighter and more snug around the ankle area. The colorways are never ending and are a good shoe.

Last but not least, we have The King of South Beach aka LeBron. LeBron as a child had a lot of hype surrounding him and shoe companies flocked to his house once they knew he was going pro. Nike didn’t have to work too hard knowing how fond LeBron was of MJ and had seen the mistake Kobe had made by going with a inferior brand. Nike released a shoe called the Zoom Generation aka the LeBron 1’s. The Zoom Generation were a midtop sneaker that were very appealing to eye and performed very well. The shoe was a perfect way to get sneaker collectors and players to buy into the hype of LeBron. The LeBron 2’s were a way higher cut shoe and a lot heavier than the Zoom Generations. The shoe was a comfortable shoe to play in and provided good stability. The LeBron 3’s aka the combat boots were very uncomfortable. Heavy. The LeBron 4’s brought back a foamposite look and had old sneaker collectors excited for what could come next from LeBron. The LeBron 5’s were very plain and overpriced. Good performing shoes but not worth the money style wise. Strictly basketball shoes. LeBron came out with 6’s and had people eyeing them as a nice sneaker with good lines and cool colorways. The 6’s turned out to be a terrible shoe to play ball in. Heavy and often brought up the topic that LeBron has to be taking steroids to carry these shoes on his feet. LeBron’s newest shoe the 7’s opted to insert some flywire to lighten up the load and some patent leather accents and colorways that reminded collectors of the Jordan 11’s. The shoes were lighter yet still heavy in comparison to other shoes on the market. The style is nice and overall may be LeBrons best shoe behind the Zoom Generations.

So here’s the results

Style         

1.Jordan

2.Kobe

3. LeBron

Comfort

1.Kobe

2.Jordan

3.LeBron

Durabilty

1.LeBron

2.Kobe

3.Jordan

Affordability

1.Kobe

2. LeBron

3. Jordan

Overall

1.Jordan

2.Kobe

3.LeBron

Jordan is a legend on the court and in the shoe game. Kobe and LeBron are still fresh in the game and have years left in them to catch up but will always be in the shadow of the baddest mo-fo out there. Jordan’s on my feet will always be like driving a Ferrari in the streets.