Looking for name — and if possible, image(s) — of a late 90s low-top Nike basketball shoe...

[ataylor]

Okay, so I had a pair of Nike basketball shoes my sophomore year of high school over two decades ago that I've wondered about now and again. Something just reminded me of them, so maybe if I describe them maybe someone here will remember more than I do.

These would have been available late 1998 and early 1999. They were low-tops, which weren't super common yet (though the Adidas Superstar 2G was kind of a thing). All white. No visible air on the midsole, nor was there anything too crazy about them. The swoosh on the side was mid-sized, placed in the middle of the upper, and was clear in a translucent/3D material. I want to say there was a 'Flight' logo on the tongue. Can't remember what was on the back. They were mid-priced, definitely not in the Jordan/Penny/Barkley range, but maybe priced above the cheaper models you'd find at JC Penney or a similar department store.

I don't think they were very popular — not sure if they were even in the Eastbay catalogs at the time, but I'm 95 percent sure I got them at Champs Sports. I'm pretty sure they were basketball shoes, but they'd have looked kinda like tennis shoes to a casual observer.

Any ideas?

 

[RyGuy45]

Shot in the dark

 

[ataylor]

Interesting! Not quite though.

The ones I had were definitely lower cut. The swoosh was a similar size and material/treatment but clear/white and more in the middle of the shoe.

Closest thing I've been able to find in terms of overall look is the Air Lambaste 2, but it wasn't them.

Let me look through my photo album from that year and see if there's a decent photo...

 

[RyGuy45]

Nike Levitate?

 

[wayniac211]

 

[RyGuy45]

^^^ Ahhh yes. Nike Air Tenacity low

Your year estimate threw me off as these are from 95-96, not 98-99.

Edit: whoops sorry OP i thoought that was you who posted these my bad

 

[ataylor]

The ones I had were a bit more traditional-looking than the Levitate above.

They did look pretty similar to that Air Tenacity, nice find! I don't think it was that exact shoe, but that's definitely the closest I've seen.

It was definitely 98/99 though. It may have been early 1999. I started the season off in fall 1998 wearing the Air Team Max Zoom, but after only one or two other guys bought the "team shoe," I moved to the KB8 (in a cool white/green team colorway I found at an Adidas outlet), then the Superstar 2G, and finally finished the season out in this mysterious all-white Nike low-top shoe, which was my favorite of the bunch.

 

[wayniac211]

Low top bball kicks in the 90s were rare.
when you said superstar 2G that brought back memories lol..

 

[ataylor]

Low top bball kicks in the 90s were rare.
when you said superstar 2G that brought back memories lol..

Yeah, for whatever reason that year white low-top basketball shoes became a micro trend on our team and a few other teams in our region. They were definitely not very easy to find apart from the Superstars!

 

[ataylor]

Here’s a photo of a photo! Not much to go from. The shoes are low cut — I’m wearing socks that go to the ankle. And since they’re all white it’s hard to see any defining characteristics, especially at this fidelity. Oh well!

 

[KanyIZZY]

What's your opponent wearing.. they look familiar and sick .. I think someone might be able to use this though it is hard to see as you mentioned.

I thought it was funny that you seemed to remember every shoe from beginning to end of the season except for the favorite it happens. I hope you are able to track them down.

 

[ataylor]

What's your opponent wearing.. they look familiar and sick .. I think someone might be able to use this though it is hard to see as you mentioned.

I thought it was funny that you seemed to remember every shoe from beginning to end of the season except for the favorite it happens. I hope you are able to track them down.

Not sure what shoe that is on the guy guarding me. I feel like the late 90s was peak basketball shoes — so many brands, so many models, so many variations. I see a pair of Iversons in there, and the ones at the top barely in frame look like Fila, my friend on the team always got that brand.

Yeah, for whatever reason, the other shoes I had that season were easier to remember (not my pics, but these were the colors I had):

I did have to look up the Air Team Max Zoom above — all I could remember was it was Nike's team-based colorway shoe of that year and that we'd supposedly agreed as a team we were all going to get them in black. Hardly anyone did, so I quickly moved on as they weren't great for a guard.

The Kobe KB8s were easy to remember because they were... Kobes. I think it was his first signature shoe with Adidas. I think the rumor at the time was that a Nike designer had gone to Adidas, not sure if that's true or not. I believe I already had these before the season started. I only wore them for a couple games before switching to...

...the Superstar 2G, which I probably also got at the Adidas outlet. I think these were my main practice shoes — they had good traction on some bad floors in our dusty old practice gyms and they could take a ton of wear and tear for months if not years. I probably wore them for a couple games though.

But then at some point I found those low-top Nikes at Champs in the blurry photo above, and I think that's what I wore for the second half of the season. I'd seen them worn just once before by a guy on a team we played earlier in the season who had one of the sickest in-game dunks I've ever seen in person and who dropped like 40 points on our varsity team. So naturally I was like "what are those shoes he is wearing" and snatched them up when I found them a month or two later.

Seems like these mysterious Nikes may remain mysterious, but they were fun to ball in. They were kinda like Kobes before Kobes were a thing, a true low-top shoe that had great court feel and traction. I think my favorite 90s shoe still goes to the Penny 2, and my favorite all-time is still the KD12 I wear now, but these mid-price Nikes that could pass for nurse-approved tennis shoes were great that year.