NBA All-Star Weekend 2017 has now come and gone and once again the city of New Orleans played host to a fabulous event. Nobody expected the Crescent City would be the home to the NBA’s best and brightest so soon after doing the job in 2014, but extreme circumstances gave them another crack at throwing the league’s biggest party and as somebody who got to see it all for the first time, it was every bit as awesome and amazing as advertised.

New Orleans might not be considered one of the sneaker hot beds of the country but as you might expect with the NBA All-Star show in town, there was plenty of heat on the feet of fans who came from all over the world and on the players who actually played on the floor. All of the major brands had to adjust a little bit to the change from Charlotte to New Orleans, but we saw plenty of kicks on the court and in the stores that would keep us satisfied for the rest of the year and it’s only February. Here’s our list of the best kicks that made their debut during NBA All-Star Weekend 2017.

Nike Kyrie 3 BHM

Nike’s Black History Month Collection is often headlined by their signature basketball shoes and for the second year in a row, it’s Kyrie Irving’s offering that has proven to be the toughest to cop out of the gate. Thanks to style, performance, and price all coming together at a magic spot for sneakerheads, consumers, and parents, the Kyrie 3 checks off plenty of boxes for those on a budget. Paul George will soon take over the mantle of most affordable Nike Basketball signature shoe, but for now, fans are loving that they own a pair of signature kicks from someone of Kyrie’s caliber before he becomes the brand’s next Kobe (the hyper-aware star who meticulously works on his shoe).

Great, I managed to mention Kyrie without talking about his flat earth comments, which if we are to believe NBA commissioner Adam Silver, is actually quite brilliant and not the words of a mad man.

Li-Ning Way of Wade 5 All-Star

2017 is the first time Dwyane Wade had failed to make an All-Star squad since his rookie year and it sure is weird. It’s also weird that Li-Ning didn’t even blink when deciding to drop the WoW 5 All-Star regardless of Wade’s status. It turned out for the best because Glenn Robinson III, a Team Wade member, went out and took home the Slam Dunk Championship in some WoW 5s, including the iridescent All-Star colorway that was blowing up at a Wade’s pop-up shop in New Orleans.

Sneaker Politics x Reebok Shaq Attaq Alma Matter

The Sneaker Politics x Reebok Shaq Attaq Alma Matter collaboration took on an extra significance because of the NBA moving the All-Star venue from Charlotte to New Orleans. Now deeply embedded in Shaq’s alma matter LSU, the Hall of Fame center had a homecoming to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his first – and arguably best – signature shoe. We won’t be that blog and remind every Laker fan that the colors could also work with their Shaq throwbacks, but you know… purple and gold, come on.

Nike Kobe A.D. BHM

Kobe Bryant might be dead as a basketball player (his moribund words, not ours), but his presence was felt in New Orleans as the several Nike athletes continues to honor Mamba by rocking his kicks. Kobe’s latest kicks, the Nike Kobe A.D., could be seen on the feet of All-Star DeMar DeRozan and Isaiah Thomas. Continuing a recent trend we’ve seen when it comes to limited edition Kobes, the BHM colorway of the Kobe A.D. could be yours if you go to NIKEiD instead of traditional retail route. Could this be the future of sneaker releases where everybody gets the kicks they want as long as they order within the specific time frame?

adidas Crazy Explosive Low

The adidas Crazy Explosive sure has come a long way from when people were clowning Andrew Wiggins’ player exclusives. Now it’s part of the three stripes’ resurgence in the basketball space now that Boost and Primeknit have become critical components of all of their releases. The Low as worn by the likes of Kyle Lowry and 3-Point Contest winner Eric Gordon flew under the radar this weekend, but we noticed and we loved it.

Nike Air Max Uptempo 97 UNC Quickstrike

What does University Blue have to do with New Orleans? Not a damn thing, but Nike had these UNC-colored Air Max Uptempos made for All-Star in Charlotte and instead of depriving us of their awesomeness, they made a stealth – some would say “quickstrike” – appearance at Nike’s space at the House of Hoops on Canal and at Sneaker Politics to the surprise of many.

Air Jordan 31 All-Star

The iridescent colors of this year’s Air Jordan All-Star offerings always made more sense of Charlotte than New Orleans, but when you “Gotta Shine”, you do it no matter the place or time. Jordan Brand turned New Orleans into their own personal sneaker playground with a special pop-up spot that was home to a handful of new kicks (more on that later), restocks, and more. It’s not surprising that people cared about the Air Jordan 1 and Air Jordan 6 retros for All-Star than the 31, but when time came to actually ball out in the All-Star Game, it was the 31 that was on the feet of Jimmy Butler and Russell Westbrook.

adidas Harden Vol. 1 All-Star Custom

James Harden was the lone adidas signature athlete in the All-Star Game and he made the most of it with a custom pair of the Harden Vol. 1 No Brakes from the adidas Hoops Collective art space. The shoes were striking enough without the special artwork applied to the grey upper, but it took them to a whole new level that might have some clamoring for a special edition of these to drop a retail.

Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG All-Star

I mean, duh.

Air Jordan 31 Gold

Timed drops were all the rage during All-Star weekend, as stores practically encouraged customers to hang around for as long as possible because you never knew when they might drop a surprise, whether it be in the form of a surprise celebrity appearance or gold freakin’ Air Jordans. Jordan Brand had without a doubt the biggest surprise of them all in the form of a premium golden Air Jordan 31 that’s better suited for display than wear. Limited to only 23 pairs made, these kicks are going to be making the rounds in the secondary market for years to come as we drool and wonder at the beauty of them.

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