Editors' Picks: The Best Sneakers of the Month

Gerald Flores, Editor-in-Chief

Reebok Workouts always remind me of the nursing shoes that my aunties used to wear in the '90s. When I got a glimpse of Gosha Rubchinskiy's "Red Special" collection the white lows were something nostalgic for me, but also something new. Traditional Reebok branding was replaced with Gosha's signature "Paccbet," which when loosely translated from Russian means "dawn" or "sunrise." Sometimes a slight flip, one that isn't even that noticeable to the naked eye, is all you need to turn a simple silhouette.

Brendan Dunne, News Editor

Hybrid sneakers are bad. New Balance has managed a couple rare exceptions to that rule over the years, among them the New Balance 997.5 and the New Balance MiUK 991.5. The latter debuted this month as part of the brand's "Surplus Pack" made of leftover materials from the its Flimby factory. The shoe manages to walk the line between dad design and sharp retro runner by pairing the upper of the 991 with the mean 1500 tooling on bottom. It's also cool in that it feels like the type of shoe that we won't see too many times in the future.

Zac Dubasik, Managing Editor

Sure, the “banned” story has absolutely no relation to the Air Jordan 31. The sole’s graphic is cringy-worthy and the double logo is gaudy. But I never wanted a pair of 31s because I thought they looked good—I wanted them to play in. And it turns out they were everything I’d hoped for, quickly becoming my favorite shoe I've played in since last year’s Air Jordan 30.

Brennan Hiro Williams, Social Media Editor

Brands repeatedly going "back to the well" has become quite tiresome across the sneaker landscape, but Vans and WTAPS manage to keep fans wanting more, despite releasing similarly-themed projects for over a decade now. These might be like any other Vans for most people, but for longtime Japanese streetwear fans like myself, these are a must.

Brandon Richard, Senior Writer

For me, the "Celebrate" Reebok Shaq Attaq was a release 24 years in the making. Other than my parents, Shaq was my childhood hero and he remains my favorite player of all time. I was a little concerned that Reebok dropped the ball on doing a Hall of Fame pack for him and Allen Iverson, but they came through on the day of the ceremony. The $275 price tag caught me a little off guard, but there was no way I was missing out on this drop. In-hand, there were no regrets about dropping the cash. With its premium Italian leather, custom insoles, and other intricate details, the "Celebrate" Shaq Attaq is a shoe that was well worth the wait.

Rich Lopez, Release Dates Manager

Of all of the adidas styles that have generated a lot of hype over the past couple of years, the adidas Busenitz, in my opinion, is a sleeper. The style originally released well ahead of the Three Stripes' recent revival and as such, was overlooked. A throwback to the original Copa Mundial and the likes of adi's original soccer trainers, the Busenitz is a great looking sneaker that looks amazing on foot. The UNDFTD collaboration is everything you could ask for from a marriage between the two, with UNDFTD's trademark clean, military aesthetic on Busenitz's pro model. Perfect.