Ranking the best basketball shoes of 2018

#1 Kyrie 4

Golden State Warriors v Boston Celtics

The trend of Nike's lower-profile releases being big successes was started by the Nike Kyrie 2s, which went berserk over the internet when Irving donned en route championship success with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA playoffs. Always one of the most fashionable players in the league and contracted to Nike right from his rookie season, Kyrie has succeeded in establishing a wildly successful sneaker line favoured by pros and fans alike.

The Kyrie 4 was the perfect culmination of technology meeting exquisite design, and Nike will find it tough to top the new sneakerheads it was able to rope in with the Kyrie 4. The Kyrie 5 is great itself (I've had the opportunity to wear-test them myself), but the Kyrie 4 is likely to go down in basketball sneaker history as a landmark shoe to be sought after by collectors in the decades to come.

My personal favourite among the Kyrie 4 colourways were the 'Wheaties' worn by Tatum against the Sixers in Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals.