Point of View

Sneakerheads live for buzzwords. OG. Remastered. Limited. Exclusive. Europe-only. Kanye (lol). Throw enough of those buzzwords around when you’re discussing a shoe, and it’ll automatically become desirable, even if the shoe itself is really not all that great. Thankfully, that’s not at all the case with this weekend’s hottest release.

Every so often a shoe comes around that checks off these buzzwords and is actually as good as it’s hyped up to be … and one of those shoes is dropping this very weekend. Yes, we’re talking about the “Black Metallic” Jordan V’s. read more

Gucci Mane and Supreme. A legendary rapper and a legendary brand, each with their own fervent cult following, Gucci for his persona and clever wordplay, and Supreme for their legacy and attitude.

You’d never think that they’d come together for a collaboration (even the most ardent hypebeast can’t say they saw it coming) … but now that they did, you’ve got to love the results. Indie hero Harmony Korine, the director of Spring Breakers (which Gucci played a major role in) directed an ad in which Gucci, decked out in a Supreme box logo tee, plays the piano, sings, talks about Supreme, and shares his shopping habits. If you haven’t seen it yet, click here to check it out. read more

Here at KicksOneTwo, we share what we like. If we rock with something, we’ll always be sure to let you, our loyal readers know about it. We know that some of you are Nike Sportswear lovers. We know that some of you are old-school Jordan heads. We know that some of you love whatever shoes Kanye West puts his stamp on. No matter what you love, we’d highly suggest that you try a pair of Vans or two this summer.

Yes, Vans. The classic California skate shoe that’s become a go-to for more than just skaters. They’re classic. They’re surprisingly comfy. They have great collabs (we miss you, Vans Syndicate *crying emoji*). They look dope with both pants and shorts. They’re extremely versatile, and they look great beat up, so it really doesn’t matter how much wear you put into them … they’ll still be fly. read more

We’re spending a lot of time talking about legendary athletes this week. Yesterday’s article was an ode to Tim Duncan, who announced his retirement in the most Tim Duncan way possible … quietly and without fanfare. Today we’re discussing an athlete from a different sport, but one who’s just as legendary as Timmy D: Derek Jeter.

The long-time Yankee captain and shortstop (who retired in 2014) has a long-standing relationship with Jordan Brand, who provided him with cleats, turf shoes, batting gloves and more during his playing career. During his farewell tour in 2014, Jordan Brand heavily promoted their “RE2PECT” campaign to pay homage to him, and just because his playing days are over doesn’t mean he’s done working with them. Yesterday it was announced that Jeter and Jordan Brand were coming together for a “RE2PECT” line of training footwear and apparel set to launch in the spring of 2017. He was also named the “captain” of Jordan Brand’s athletes, which shows you how much respect (or RE2PECT if you want to use marketing terms) the brand has for him. read more

The best power forward to ever play the game of basketball retired yesterday.

Tim Duncan called it quits after 19 seasons (all with the San Antonio Spurs of course), 5 NBA Championships, 2 MVP’s, 3 Finals MVP’s, 15 All-Star selections, 10 All-NBA First Team selections, and a whole host of other honors.

In true Tim Duncan fashion, he announced his retirement quietly and without fanfare. He didn’t need to have a big, over-dramatic final season filled with sappy tributes and everyone waxing poetic about how great he was every time the Spurs were on TV. He didn’t need a farewell tour. He wanted to retire quietly, on his own terms, and he did just that. read more

There’s only three things guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and Nike releasing an Olympic Pack of sneakers every four years. This installment of Olympic kicks offers everything from basketball shoes to retro runners, and there’s definitely some heat to be had … so you already know what we had to do. We had to hit you with the official KicksOneTwo rankings. Let’s get right to it.

6. Air Max BW

Coming in at the bottom of the list is the Air Max BW. The shoe itself is nothing to write home about, and the black/white doesn’t work so well with the red, navy, and gold accents. Not bad, but not special. Not much more needs to be said. read more

I love the Nike Hyperdunk. It’s my favorite Nike Basketball shoe of all time. You may remember that I wrote a whole piece on my love for the Hyperdunk a little while back. So obviously when I found out that the original Hyperdunks would be re-releasing, I was extremely excited. I headed on down to the mall earlier this week to grab a pair of the all-black colorway (my favorite), but when I got to the mall, I was sorely disappointed. It wasn’t like the original (which I still have, mind you) at all. read more

You’ve heard the news. Kevin Durant has decided to join the Warriors. You’ve heard the opinions on KD’s move to the team who last year set the mark for best regular-season record in the NBA too, mostly negative (for the record, we don’t love it either. You’re one game away from the Finals, and you leave to join the team that you lost to? Nahhh). You’ve probably also heard about the potential sneaker ramifications, and that’s what we’re talking about today. read more

We’re not even going to front: basketball shoes are expensive. Take the newest technology from a big company, be it Flyknit, Boost, or Charged Foam, slap it into a well-designed shoe, and put a famous player like LeBron James or Steph Curry’s name on it, and you can pretty much charge whatever you want for it.

It’s marketing, capitalism, and sneaker design at their finest, and they can’t be stopped. The disadvantage to this is that they can’t always be afforded either. Not every mom/dad can afford to drop $150+ on a pair of signature shoes for their kid, no matter how badly they’d like to. read more