1. Nike Air Mag
With the Hyperadapt being No. 2 on the list, you definitely should have seen these coming at being No. 1. The Nike Air Mag easily has to be the best sneaker to release in 2016, even if it wasn’t technically an official release.
Nike did a raffle where only a select few would be chosen to win the sneaker—but man, people from all over wanted a chance at getting the shoe.
No matter what their reason was for wanting to buy it (nostalgia, wearing them, stunting on Instagram, reselling, collectable, etc.), Nike was able to grab national and world attention with this sneaker.
Someone who probably knows absolutely nothing about shoes probably read about this sneaker being released. Everyone knows about the Air Mag, whether it’s from the “Back to the Future” movies, Nike the brand, Michael J. Fox, etc.
The shoe reportedly resells for over about $30,000 on the after-market. It has played a big part Nike’s new and innovating self-lacing technology that will likely be featured on their future sneakers.
It’s the shoe that started it all, and that is why it’s the best sneaker of 2016.