10 Retro Sneakers We'd Like to See Andrew Wiggins Wear On Court

Image via Complex Original

It's no secret Wiggins is comfortable hitting the hardwood in adidas. With the Crazy 1 (or the Kobe 1) silhouette getting a revival this year, what better time for the player to switch things up? Although the sneaker is a retro, it's still performance ready, as current pros Iman Shumpert, Wesley Johnson, and Avery Bradley have put Crazy 1s to work in the NBA.

The OG Jordan XIs, arguably the greatest pair of Jordans ever, were released on in April of 1995, a mere two months after Andrew Wiggins was born. Coincidence? Not at all. Though he was likely too young to remember Jordan playing, Wiggins has been dubbed "Maple Jordan" by bloggers due to his insane athleticism and being from Canada. While putting him in the GOAT category before he even has his first legal drink seems hasty, seeing him take off from the free throw line for a dunk in a pair of "Space Jam" XIs would be an incredible sight.

Easily the greatest Canadian basketball player of all time, Steve Nash showed his humanitarian side back in 2008 when he wore the Nike Trash Talk, a sneaker made from manufacturing waste. Modeled after the Nike Zoom BB II Low, Nash's kicks were aesthetically pleasing, game ready, and revolutionary--much like Andrew Wiggins' game. And fellow Canadians need to show each other love, right?

Wiggins caused quite a stir last fall when it was rumored that adidas was ready to offer the 18-year-old a ten year, $180 million dollar deal upon completion of his college career. While the rumor still hasn't proved to be true, it's fun to consider the retro options that Wiggins could explore once entering the league. While the KB8s (rebranded as the Crazy 8s) and eqt Elevation have been re-released in the past few years, the KB8 II has gone untouched. Released in '98, right as Kobe was making the leap into the NBA's premier player echelon, the KBII's were a tremendous follow up to the KB8 and another mark in the fantastic "Wear Your Feet" line that adidas launched in the late '90s. Wiggins has worn adidas at Kansas and seeing him bring out the KB IIs during conference play would force adidas to at least consider a re-release of the sneaker.

KangaROOS, or ROOS for short, will always be remembered for having a unique pocket on the side to hold anything from loose change, to keys, to condoms. Founded in 1979, ROOS were focused on sport performance wear and signed NBA great Clyde Drexler to an endorsement deal and created a signature shoe for the Trailblazer to wear before he flipped to Avia. The Clyde Drexler edition ROOS featured a blood red colorway with "DREXLER" written clearly on the side and are now nearly impossible to find. During his playing days, Clyde "The Glide" Drexler was one of the most effortless athletes in basketball and made dunking a basketball look as easy as lacing up a pair of kicks. No one in the college game gets off the ground with as much ease as Wiggins does and seeing him dunk in a pair of blood red ROOS would surely bring back memories of the Glide.

Before rocking an oversized suit on NBA TV, Tracy McGrady was one of the most feared scorers in the NBA. Adidas took a huge gamble on the young McGrady when he left Toronto for Orlando, but the TMAC 1s have been re-released in a dizzying array of colorways that still hold up as a performance sneaker on court. Due to his height, frame and skillset, Wiggins has been compared to McGrady by some, and the original TMAC 1 black and blue color combination.

Though he's now public enemy number one in Toronto, Vince Carter was once the toast of Queen City and absolutely shut down the 2000 All-Star Weekend with the greatest Slam Dunk Competition showing of all time. Almost as famous as the incredible array of dunks Carter performed were the sick red and white Tai Chis Carter wore that put And1 on the map. The Tai Chis are still the most notable And1 sneaker of all time and the simple yet unique design was a hit on the hardwood in the early 2000s. The Tai Chi has been seen back on the court on the feet of the Indiana Pacers Lance Stephenson in various PEs but have not retailed in the States since '09. With Wiggins being Canada's greatest export since Drake, seeing him trot out in a pair of red and white Tai Chis would be nothing short of epic.

Released in '88, Nike took a bold step by featuring safari print on a basketball sneaker. Fortunately for Nike, the shoes were a hit and with the best college basketball player on the planet at the time, Danny Manning, wearing the Assaults during the season. Safari print has become a Nike staple on trainer releases but rarely on the hardwood. The Air Assaults were re-released in 2007 but fans were generally unreceptive due to all the changes seen on the sneaker--including a visible Air Sole that wasn't on the original. The sneaker has been shelved since, but if Wiggins were to bring the originals out, they would surely be back in rotation within a month.

During his three seasons at Kansas, Paul Pierce dominated the Big XII in a plethora of kicks. Included in his deep rotation were the Air Max Uptempo 2s. These made a bit of a resurgence when they were re-released by Nike in 2011 and despite being a bit bulky compared to the current lightweight sneakers being released monthly, they are a nice on-court fit that combines style with durability. The Uptempo 2s were big in the college ranks during the '90s and Wiggins wearing them would go a long way making the sneaker popular again on the college level.

Wilt Chamberlain was arguably the greatest player to ever suit up for the Kansas Jayhawks, and averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 boards per game all while wearing Converse Chuck Taylors. Chucks have been more of a fashion staple rather than an on-court shoe for decades now, but wouldn't it be dope if Andrew Wiggins brought them out for warmups? It would se the Internet ablaze.