5 Things Sneakerheads Would Have Never Predicted

At times it seems that adidas just can’t catch a break. Derrick Rose’s career has been plagued with injuries ever since his MVP season. 2015’s big signing, James Harden, is poised to miss the playoffs in his first season with the Three Stripes. But ever since signing Kanye West away from Nike in late-2013, the brand has been more relevant than ever before with the sneakerhead community.

The Yeezy may not have jumped over the Jumpman in terms of sheer volume, but from NMD, to Tubular, to all things Boost, adidas’ acceptance and popularity in the sneaker community is at an all time high, and it all seems to lead back to West.

Nike’s customization platform launched all the way back in 1999 and while it was always a useful option for personalizing sneakers, it wasn’t exactly a destination for sneakerheads. That all changed when the eventual inclusion of Sportswear franchises like Dunks, Forces, and Air Maxes started hitting the site, albeit with limited options.

The real turning point, however, was when Nike’s signature basketball models not only just started hitting the platform, but were available on the same day the sneaker released. No more waiting until the model had run its course, new LeBrons, Kobes, and KDs can be customized before they even hit retail. And just like that, the two biggest complaints about NIKEiD—a lack of options, and lack of current models—were addressed. Armed with a new level of customization, all of the sudden sneakerheads were copping more iDs than retail releases.

Less than three years ago, Stephen Curry lost a conference semi-final Playoff series to Spurs in six games. It would be his last game in a pair of Nikes. Meanwhile, over at Under Armour, Brandon Jennings’ short-lived signature line had already come to an end, and without any other relevant athletes on their roster, the future of Under Armour basketball looked as sparse as its past.

Cut to 2016, where according to some parameters, Stephen Curry’s Under Armour line is now outselling LeBron James’ Nike line. UA has a long way to go in terms of market share when it comes to catching up with Nike, and their footwear trails far behind when it comes to lifestyle appeal, but the movement is very real. And with each record that falls, Curry and UA become bigger and bigger threats.

Back in the day, if you wanted a shoe bad enough, there was one foolproof method of obtaining them for retail: camping out. If you had the will to be there first, and sacrifice days of your life to sleep outside your local sneaker spot, then there was a way to get your hands on almost any sneaker that you wanted.

These days you’re better off picking up a second job with that time you would have spent camping, and saving every last cent, because the only way of guaranteeing your pair now is by spending resale money. Sure, you might get lucky with a drawing, Twitter contest, SNKRS, Confirmed, or a bot, but the days of willing your way to a new release are all but over. It takes the luck of the draw just to have a chance to buy those coveted releases.

Original colorways of Air Jordans hold a special place in the heart of many sneaker collectors. These were the sneakers that MJ created so many memories in, and in the earlier days of retros, many were appalled when new color palettes were being applied to these classic models.

But aided by the fact that many younger collectors never even saw MJ play, new colorways are often met with acceptance, enthusiasm and hype in 2016. With greater quantities of the originals being produced than ever before, to the point where they are sitting on shelves months after their release, new colorways are snatched up as soon as they hit. The nostalgia factor may always be present, but for many collectors, a hot shoe is a hot shoe, with excitement now even surrounding the return of non-original colorways that were once shunned.