In Honor Of Latrell Sprewell Allegedly Bringing Back The Dada Supreme Spinners, Let's Breakdown The Top Gimmick Sneakers of All Time

Lost in the hysteria of the New York Knicks winning their first NBA Championship, clinching the second round of the NBA Playoffs, was Latrell Sprewell teeing up this gem of a tweet. 

THE LATRELL SPREWELL SUPREME SPINNERS! From Dada!? 

What a blast from the past. If he brings these things back it's only right that we insist on all companies bring back their best gimmick sneakers.

Here's a rundown, in order, of the best of the best.

8 - G-Unit Sneakers by Reebok

These babies were released at the height of G-Unit’s world dominance in the 2000s. And these bad boys weren’t just shoes, they were a lifestyle. In a time when rap was king, and 50 Cent and G-Unit basically ran the world, these were a reminder that street cred was just as important as comfort. And they were honestly pretty nice looking shoes. A cross between an Adidas Stan Smith and a Reebok Classic. If you didn't have that G-Unit logo on there you wouldn't have the smallest inkling of an idea that these were technically "streetwear". 

What a classic. 

I asked Naso for help going over this list since he owns half of the shoes on it still, and he told me that a good pair of G-Unit's are going for like $500 on eBay. 

7- Starburys

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Now if you were a teenager trying to flex on a budget, Starburys were your ticket to sneaker heaven. Stephon Marbury's line was the anti-hype sneaker. These shoes were $15, and yet they somehow gave you a taste of being a baller without any of the price tag. Really a pretty cool idea when you think about it. 

And at face value, these were pretty fire sneakers. And looked super easy to keep clean. But even at $15, you could buy 5-6 pair of these for the price of 1 pair of Nikes, and rotate through them once they're beat up. 

6 - Kobe Feet you Wear

Before Kobe became the swoosh king, he was out there rocking the Adidas "Feet You Wear." People forget but Adidas signed Kobe out of highschool. And they used him to debut their "feet your wear" soled model sneakers. (Keyshawn Johnson had a deal as well for his NFL turf trainers.) The shoes had a peculiar sole that resembled the balls of your feet, and was supposed to enhance your movement. I actually had a pair of these and fucking things and I loved them. Best basketball shoe Adidas ever made. 

5- Gary Payton Gloves

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The Payton Gloves from Nike were a game-changer in terms of design. They were futuristic-looking, kind of like something a superhero, or wrestler would wear.

These were before their time and I don't understand why this sleeve hasn't been adopted by football cleats. I actually had a pair of these as well. (The white ones- I loved white shoes for some reason). They were super easy to keep clean and once you laced them up and then zipped up over the laces, those things were stuck on your feet like tape. They were never coming lose or the laces undone. Great gimmick and great shoe. Perfect for a guy nicknamed "The Glove".

4- Nike Shox 

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Let’s talk about Nike Shox, the shoes that made you think you were going to jump higher simply by wearing them. These were the futuristic tech of the early 2000s, with springs in the sole that were more of a flex than anything truly functional. Nike convinced us that they were engineered for performance, but the real reason we wanted them was because they were literally the coolest thing to walk around in.

These things dropped like absolute heat rocks. They were impossible to find in the good color ways. Every cool jock you knew in high school had them. And they looked fire pair with a pair of Abercrombie cargo shorts. Rico disagreed with me here that "Shox" were a gimmick but I argued back. Once they started going from just the two shox in the back heel to the entire sole of the shoe (see below picture) they ruined a good thing and the shark had been jumped. 

3- LA Gear - Lights

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These were a hit with kids in the '90s, and they were about as subtle as a disco ball. The real “wow” factor was in the lights that flashed with every step you took, ensuring that you were literally lighting up the sidewalk. These were before my time, but I remember seeing them every now and then, and when they made a comeback later with little kids, and credit where it's due, it's a pretty great gimmick. Especially in the 80s and 90s. I feel like battery power back then was an issue so wondering how long the lights actually lasted. But that just meant you had to reup and get a new pair once they were shot. 

2- Sprewell Supreme Spinners

I didn't own a pair of these myself, but I definitely knew people who did. These were the shoes that had spinning rims built into the sole, like the actual rims you saw in every single rap video during that era. The idea was that you could leave a trail of spinning glory wherever you walked. It was gimmicky as hell, but for a brief moment, they were everything. Pop culture couldn’t get enough of them, and while they didn’t change the world of basketball sneakers, they certainly left a legacy in the “look at me” era of sneaker culture. 

The wheels broke all the time. I remember a few kids who wore these things and they were always missing the wheels. The fact Naso still has these things and in such perfect condition is amazing. 

Things started getting really out of hand when they started putting three spinning wheels on each sneaker. 

1- Reebok Pump

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The Reebok Pump is the OG gimmick sneaker. If you were lucky enough to rock these in the '90s, you probably spent most of your time pumping up the tongue like you were inflating a basketball. These shoes were marketed as the ultimate in custom comfort, but what made them cool was the air pump in the tongue. Kids didn’t care if it helped with performance, they just loved being able to pump them up to absurd levels.

My memory might be shot, but I also remember "The Pumps" as being the first wicked expensive basketball shoes. I think they were something like $200 which is a lot today, nevermind back in 1989. Just an absurd amount of money for sneakers. But that was the price you had to pay to fly with the birds I guess. 

I also remember Dee Brown pumping his up before his iconic "no-look" dunk contest winning dunk. Just pure organic branding that if you're in marketing makes you rock hard to witness.

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I also remember a rumor floating around Central Mass in the early 90s that a kid who was lucky enough to own a pair of Pumps pumped his up too many times and popped them and his dad got so mad at him he glued them to his feet and never let him take them off. 

Simpler times.