KYW's January Mailbag — The REAL Sneaker of the Year? ... The LeBron 23 ... and more
Happy New Year! Wait...is it too late to be saying that?
Good morning, friends! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you.
It’s been a minute! Had lots to take care of over the holiday break. But I missed y’all a lot. It’s good to be back here in 2025.
I wish I could say the year was off to a fantastic start. I want to start by sending love to all the LA homies dealing with the wildfires.
Some resources:
The Los Angeles Fire Department provided a list of spaces accepting drop-off donations in the area. If you’re not in LA, some spaces accepting monetary donations are included on the page.
Several brands in LA are providing aid and support to the community as well. High Snobiety provided a list of them here.
Sending love and prayers to everyone impacted by this tragedy. This has been heartbreaking. But seeing the community respond and help each other during this challenging time has warmed my heart.
Here’s to a speedy recovery for the community.
Let’s get into the newsletter.
Curious why you didn’t go w the KOI Sunder for SOTY?
The reader continues… It’s been a popular pick in some other places. Not saying the AE1 isn’t valid or it’s wrong. Just curious what your thinking there was. Especially since you said you really like the shoe.
I’ll start by saying that anyone can pick whatever sneaker they want for sneaker of the year. It’s your pick. Your opinion is really the only one that matters.
I picked the AE 1 and outlined my reasons why here. I think they’re valid. But there were certainly other picks to be made there, too. Would I pushback? Yes! But that’s just my opinion.
The Kids of Immigrants Air Max Sunder is one of those sneakers.
My take: Lots of folks picked the KOI Sunder as their Sneaker of the Year for 2024. I don’t think they’re wrong. It deserved to be part of the conversation, at the very least. I picked it as my personal favorite collaboration of 2024.
The reasons why are obvious. I love its story. There’s so much heart to it.
It’s a sneaker created to pay homage to the folks who migrated to this country to give the creators of this shoe the runway they needed to create a masterpiece like this one. This shoe wouldn’t exist without those coming before them making a deliberate choice to make that journey and take that risk. I think that’s beautiful.
It also comes at a time when immigration is as politicized as it has ever been. Creating something like this takes guts. You’ve got to respect that.
So, yeah, this is undoubtedly a shoe I greatly appreciate. That said, I didn’t pick it as my personal sneaker of the year. It was because of the when not the why.
The timing: This shoe came at such a late point in the conversation. It had a December release date, which isn’t a bad thing — it’s pretty clever. That’s one of the hottest release months on the calendar in the footwear industry.
But, for me and my personal sneaker of the year pick, I felt like it came at a point that was too late in the conversation for me to pick it. The lasting impact hadn’t had a chance to build just yet.
I see the KOI Sunder more as a 2025 pick than a 2024 joint, as I did the AE 1. That shoe was initially released in December 2023 but took off in 2024. Now we see its impact.
I can see the KOI Sunder doing the same thing. The conversation around this sneaker won’t stop here.
In my eyes, this is a game-changing collaboration. It's one of the deepest we’ve seen from Nike in a long, long time. Its canvas is one of the brand’s most obscure models. A shoe like this could make it one of its most popular.
For creatives, this drop will make room for future projects to say more. Collaborators might be allowed to be more bold with their ideas and their creations. That means a lot.
The big picture: In the end, the KOI Sunder wasn’t my SOTY pick. But regardless, I think it’s a good pick. And if it’s yours, you should stand by it because it’s more than worthy.
This shoe is incredible. I don’t have a pair yet, but I’ll definitely be grabbing one soon.
Do you think we're going to get a big rollout for the Lebron 23 this year with it being such a monumental number for him?
The reader continues… I loved the 20 and 21 but felt that the 22 sucked!
I'd say no if you’d asked me this question a year ago. I wouldn’t have bet on Nike making a significant push for LeBron with the upcoming 23.
But things have changed: It’s a new day at Nike. Elliott Hill had a lot to say about this during Nike’s Q2 earnings call last month:
"We lost our obsession with sport. Moving forward, we will lead with sport and put the athlete at the center of every decision. The sharpness in each sport is what differentiates our brand and our business and fuels our culture."
What that means: The brand is returning to storytelling with sports as its “north star,” as Hill called it. That’s what made Nike what it is in the first place. The excellence of its athletes made it unique and aspirational.
With that in mind: The LeBron 23 creates an opportunity for the brand to do just that. It’s a big moment for one of the brand’s most prominent athletes. Nike should go above and beyond to roll this thing out.
It’s LeBron James’ 23rd signature sneaker, which only Michael Jordan has accomplished.
Jordan also didn’t play in the LeBron 23. LeBron will likely play in his.
Then there’s the significance of the number 23. The two greatest Nike athletes in the brand’s history wore the number.
I say all of that to say that there’s a lot of story there to tell. It’s up to Nike to tell it.
The big picture: The LeBron 23 rollout will be a big test case for me regarding Hill’s tenure at Nike. This is a huge opportunity. If we’re genuinely recentering athletes, this is the spot where we should see that happen in a significant way.
What’s going on with Nike Golf, and will there be a bigger push for that category, too?
The reader continues… They literally sponsor the #1s in both Men’s and Women’s Golf (Scottie Scheffler & Nelly Korda) but we rarely hear anything from Nike about them. I truly hope they don’t overlook the growing golf community like they did the recent running boom.
This is another case where recentering sports should do Nike some good. Its golf wing is in such a fascinating space.
The backdrop: Tiger Woods was the brand’s leading man in the sport for 27 years. He officially left Nike to run his own venture in January of last year.
It can’t be understated how huge of a loss that is. It’s not quite like losing Michael Jordan, but it’s pretty close. There’s not a more recognizable face in the sport, whether you love or hate the guy. At the very least, you know who he is.
On top of that, the departure happened at a pretty inopportune time for Nike.
More Americans are playing golf these days than ever before. The sport’s popularity was boosted during the pandemic and hasn’t waned yet.
That boost in popularity has sprouted new professional ventures and big cash infusions into them. The latest, Tomorrow’s Golf League, is a venture founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Be smart: Nike has gotten in on the wave, but done it in a way that sort of sidelines the sport. Its most prominently featured golf shoes are Jordan Retros. The only “athletes” I can recall seeing featured in a golf commercial were Shooter McGavin and Ty Webb.
Remember that this is the same brand with the best golfers in the world on the PGA and LPGA side, as the reader pointed out, in Scottie Scheffler (No. 1, PGA) and Nelly Korda (No. 1, LPGA).
If you’re recentering sports, that means working through them. The actual golfers on your roster and some of the best athletes in the world.
There’s a huge opportunity there — especially with the explosion of women’s sports. Having an athlete like Nelly Korda is a huge advantage.
I’d look for Nike to push her in major ways in 2025.
List these things for us
The reader continues…
1. Collab you’re looking forward to the most in 2025
2. GR you’re looking forward to the most in 2025
3. Retro you’re looking forward to the most
This is a tough one. There’s a lot of really good stuff projected to come out in 2025.
My picks:
Collab I’m excited about: The Joe FreshGoods 992. Y’all know how it goes with JFG on the Kicks You Wear. I’m a fan of his work. He’s one of the best artists and creatives in the footwear industry. The last 992 he created was a classic. I’m expecting this upcoming joint to be the same.
GR I’m excited about: Nike’s Air Max 1000. This is a shoe I was skeptical of on my initial look at it. I’m not that into clogs. And a 3D-printed Air Max model seemed like something that would be expensive for no real reason. But over these last couple months since its ComplexCon reveal, I think it looks pretty cool. I’m copping a pair.
Retro I’m excited about: I’ll go with the OG 1993 Diamond Turf 1 here. I think this model is the best of Nike's 90s NFL era. It’s either this or Barry Sanders’ Zoom Turf model for me.
What is your dream Nike x Lego set?
Man, this is a great question. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks since I got it. It’s hard to choose.
The backdrop: Nike and Lego announced their new partnership in September last year with the brands set to launch co-branded products (including Lego bricks) in 2025.
In other words, we’re about to get some of those Jordan Lego sets that y’all have been dreaming of for a while.
For me: If I could have one sneaker turned into a dream Lego set, it would be the Skate or Die Nike SB Dunks.
This is one of my favorite SBs of all time. It’s a sneaker inspired by an old 1987 8-bit video game released on the Commodore 64. No, I’m not that old. I’ve never played it or owned the system. But I did have this sneaker back in the day. I beat them so badly that they were unwearable and have been searching for a pair ever since.
If I can’t own the pair again, I’d at least love a Lego set of them. That’d be awesome.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
New Balance 1906L “Dark Juniper” — Wednesday, January 15
Nike Air Force 1 Low “All-Star” — Thursday, January 16
Travis Scott x Nike Zoom Field Jaxx — Friday, January 17
Asics Gel Kayano 20 “Black and Pure Silver” — Friday, January 17
AE 1 Low “Year of the Snake” — Saturday, January 18
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate you spending your time here with me this morning.
If you’ve got any questions, comments or concerns feel free to hit me up via email at mikedsykes@gmail.com or hit me here on Substack.
Have a fantastic week. Until next time. Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯