Sneaker Rotations For The 2019 All-NBA Teams

The year’s best guards, forwards, and centers were officially named today as the NBA revealed the All-NBA First, Second, and Third team selections. While not necessarily the fifteen best overall talents of the league, these elite squads in three tiers do make up the six best backcourt players, the six best frontcourt players at the forward position, and the three best frontcourt players at the center position. Typically, an All-NBA selection is more valuable than an All-Star selection as it is a far more exclusive group, and not surprisingly, many of these athletes have signature shoes to call their own.
 
 
As expected, there are many familiar faces in the 2019 class of All-NBA giants, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t a few surprises. Nikola Jokic emerged as the single best true big-man in the game, LeBron James had a “down” year as he plummeted to the Third team (he’s been a First teamer since 2008), and Giannis’ ascension is perfectly timed with his looming signature shoe debut. See below for the official All-NBA First, Second, and Third teams as well as their sneaker rotations for most of the 2018-2019 season.

The All-NBA First Team matched their award-winning play with equally impressive footwear, running the gamut from flashy and unique to simple and effective. One one side, there’s players like Paul George, whose PlayStation x Nike PG 2.5s and NASA x Nike PG 3s were the talk of the basketball sneaker world. On the other side, there’s young talents like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, the former of whom is biding his time until the release of his highly-anticipated Nike Freak 1 in a plethora of Nike Kobes (both regular and PE editions), while the latter provided stout post play and pinpoint passes in the Nike Hyperdunk 2018. Then, in the middle, there’s veterans like Steph Curry who made it an even half dozen in the signature shoe market with his UA Curry 6, and James Harden, who torched the NBA’s other 29 teams all season long in his Boost-equipped adidas Harden Vol. 3.

The All-NBA Second Team brought the heat on the footwear front with signature models and special makeups aplenty. Damian Lillard started the season in the adidas Dame 4 and pushed his Blazers all the way to the Conference Finals in the fifth model. Kyrie Irving’s fan-favorite Nike line followed suit, as the Celtics point guard kicked things off in his Nike Kyrie 4 before evolving to the striking Nike Kyrie 5 right before Christmas. Kevin Durant played the vast majority of 2018-2019 in the Nike KD 11 before the Nike KD 12 debuted prior to the playoffs. Kawhi Leonard hit the rare mid-season brand switch, starting his run in Toronto with the Air Jordan 32 Low before signing with New Balance and reviving their long-dormant basketball line with his signature OMN1S. And although the other four players on the list were frequently rotating, swapping, and switching, Joel Embiid joyfully took the court in PE colorways of the UA HOVR Havoc all season long.

Strangely enough, the All-NBA Third Team might have the most robust all-around footwear game among all the squads. LeBron James’ Nike LeBron 16 was one of the season’s most celebrated models thanks to the sophomore #LeBronWatch campaign, while triple-double machine Russell Westbrook debuted the impressive Why Not ZER0.2. Kemba Walker had the most perplexing rotation of the season as he heavily favored the Air Jordan 10 Retro, while Blake and Rudy proudly repped Jordan and Nike while donning their respective brand’s in-line hoops models.