25 Sneakers That Were Unfairly Hated On

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Year: 1997

Let's face it - Allen Iverson's first signature shoe after the Question had a lot going on. The hidden lacing, the name going up the tongue, the seemingly random hits of patent leather, the DMX cushioning. It was a lot to take in, especially after the relative simplicity of the Question. Years later, though, is there a shoe that better embodies the excesses of the late '90s?

Year: 1996

It seems crazy now, but there was a time when patent leather on a sneaker was simply unheard of. Tinker Hatfield knew what he was doing when he placed it on the Air Jordan XI - the shiny material not only set off the design, but it's stretch-free properties were a performance plus - but the world wasn't quite ready yet. But boy, eventually it would be.

Year: 1991

The ASICS GEL Lyte III gets plenty of hate because of its split-tongue design. The shoes originally came out as performance runners back in the early '90s and it definitely had people wondering what was going on. Fast forward 20+ years later and the running shoe has become a staple in the lifestyle arena, despite the "crazy" split-tongue design.

Year: 2005

Sneakerheads were stuck on the Nike Dunk. So when Nike SB dropped the P-Rod, the first couple of colorways weren't really flying off the shelves. Then in true hypebeast fashion, the "J-Rod" colorway doused in Elephant Print dropped and the P-Rod line became something to fuck with.

Year: 2007

If it isn't a true retro, it isn't good enough. That seems to be the mentality of a lot of sneakerheads in the current state of the game. Reality is, sneakers like the Spiz'ike took a lot of flack from the message boards and blogs but then ended up selling like crazy.

Year: 1996

There was never anything wrong with the Air Max 96, it just had the misfortune of being the design hiccup in between two all-time classics. If you removed the Air Max 96 from the timeline, the Air Max 95 and Air Max 97 is a natural design flow - the toothy Air Max 96 is an outlier. And while the 95 and 97 are retroed damn near every year, the 96 is still awaiting a true-to-the-original re-release after 17 long years. Not fair.

Year: 1995

People fear change, sneakerheads most of all. The off-center lacing of the Footscape series made more sense when considering the anatomy of the foot, but untold years of conventionally laced runners made for a nervous reception. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Thing is, what if this way was better? Is better? Other companies have switched up lacing since, but the Footscape was an early adopter made to suffer.

Year: 1988

What's in a name? A lot, apparently. The Air STAB - which is short for "stability" - was pulled from UK shelves upon its retro release in the middle of last decade due to an unfortunate (and entirely unrelated) knifing epidemic. It's not to say that people didn't gravitate toward the shoe because of its, um, edgy name, but it's hard to imagine an actual shoe inspiring violence due to name alone. Back in 1988, Nike saw nothing in releasing the Stab AND the Air Assault. Never happen now.

Year: 2010

Sneakers with toes? Do go on. Beloved by barefoot runners and would-be barefoot runners alike, the foot-shaped "sneakers" were met with skepticism - if not outright derision - by the rest of the world. Still, they were popular enough for both Fila and adidas to knock off the design. Don't hate them until you try them.

Year: 2013

Li-Ning gets a lot of static for being a Chinese company. A lot of people also hate on the colors that look "Jordan-like" when it comes to the Way of the Wade. Reality is, we all looked up to someone, if Dwyane Wade looked up to MJ and is from Chicago, why wouldn't he run with Bulls like colors? Especially considering the Heat have similar team colors. We've seen a lot of talk move towards liking the WoW from Li-Ning since D-Wade first made the announcement but the release still awaits.

Year: 2008

The 6 Rings model was looked at as if it was a fake when it first hit the web. Nobody wanted anything to do with it. That all changed once some decent pictures and classic MJ-inspired colorways dropped.

Year: 1997

The NBA pulled one of their typical hater moves when Penny set foot on the court back in the day. The colorway was too bold for the dress code so Hardaway got busy with the Sharpie until the league finally reconsidered.

Year: 2008

Nike chose to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic Air Force 1 in unprecedented fashion. Not only did they release countless versions of the original, but they commissioned designer Tracy Teague to create an entirely new version of the shoe - essentially a "what-if" product, pairing original designer Bruce Kilgore's concepts with Nike's latest technology. The result was the Air Force 25, a sleek $200 shoe that met the goals of the project perfectly. But in an era soon to be dominated by lightweight performers, the luxuriant leather sneakers were still somewhat out of time. And it didn't help that the push was HUGE, with seemingly hundreds of colorways released. Six years later, the shoe bears revisiting.

Year: 1996

Eastbay called it the most technically advanced skate shoe ever when it dropped in 1996 - and they were probably right. With its Zoom Air cushioning and off-center lacing, the Scream was essentially a skate version of the Shake Ndestrukt. But in 1996, skateboarding wasn't quite ready to accept Nike, and the Scream (along with its takedown brethren) sank without a trace. Someday Supreme will bring these back, and everyone will act like they've always wanted a pair.

Year: 1986

The Wilson Pro Staff may have flown under the radar due to its low price point and not-so-sneakerhead brand name but there is no denying that this is a classic pair of tennis shoes. Not to mention, when Pete Sampras played in them back in the day he cut out the "W" logo from the side of his mids when he signed with Nike. If you see these on the feet of someone today, you know that person is a true OG in the sneaker game.

Year: 2009

Lil Penny's signature model took hybrid sneakers to a new level (like, $180 level) but when the first images hit the web, mad people were hating. Now? It seems the 1/2 Cent has become just another must-have for Penny Hardaway fans and collectors.

Year: 2006

Sure, it wasn't really a Dunk. And the Velcro ankle strap may have been a little bit much. But when the best skate shoe of all-time is itself a mid, you don't ask questions – you just take that silhouette down. So instead of disparaging the Dunk Mid, try skating in it. What's that? You don't skate, you just like SBs? Oh, do tell.

Year: 1996

During the time that the Shaqnosis and Kamikaze were the stars of the Reebok lineup, the signature model for then, Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, was one of the most overlooked sneakers. Despite having a similar bold color blocking, the Reebok Big Hurt was looked at as a painful attempt to compete with "The Kid" over at the Swoosh. Nowadays, it seems people are begging for some retro action, though.

Year: 2007

The design of the Converse Wade 3 was based on triangles - not necessarily the best idea, given the shape of the actual foot. But the final design wound up owing something to the delightfully chunky ERX line of the late '80s and early '90s, meaning that there was actual Converse DNA in there. What there wasn't in there was lots of feet, paving the way for the Chicago-raised Wade to leave for the Jordan Brand.

Year: 1985

MJ took swag to a whole new level with his fancy gold chains and colorful sneakers. The NBA tried to hold him back but Nike picked up the tab for all those fines and the rest is history.

Year: 2000

Sneakerheads might have given up on the Jordan line when MJ hit his last shot against the Jazz but one of his biggest rivals didn't. Reggie Miller laced up the Air Jordan XV in an exclusive colorway, which most 'heads would probably drop a boatload of cash for. Maybe Reggie was onto something?

Year: 2013

The Air Jordan XX8 is different. There is no doubt about it. We saw all the jokes. However, it seems to have grown on a lot of people since we first saw it at the end of 2012, because we see people wearing them. Which according to Twitter, was never going to happen.

Year: 2012

Jeremy Scott always pushes the envelope with his designs but in 2012, people misinterpreted his version of the adidas Originals Rounshouse. The design, inpired by the toy My Pet Monster, a childhood favorite of Jeremy's, was seen as somehow racist and adidas chose to scrap the design.

Year: 2002

They looked like toasters. This is not up for debate. And the plush exterior left little room for heat (or sweat) to escape, meaning they wound up like little saunas if you wore them for more than five minutes. And the creasing? Forget it. Wear them once and their VVVVVVVVVVVNDS status was no more. Hell, even Kobe himself abandoned them, right in the middle of a Finals run, no less - his first step in a very public sneaker company divorce. Here's the thing, though. Right out of the box, the Audi-designed adidas were works of art. And they were super-comfortable on the court, ventilation issues aside. Et tu, Kobe.

Year: 1987

Nike's marketing department didn't even think they could sell a shoe with a clear Air unit. Thankfully, there were plenty of people who proved that theory wrong over the years.