Kobe Bryant fans are likely well acquainted with his signature Adidas and Nike lines, but the late basketball legend’s sneaker legacy goes beyond his own footwear. In addition to wearing various 1990s Adidas models while playing for Philadelphia’s Lower Merion High School, Bryant wore one of the more iconic Nike designs of the era in the Air Max Uptempo, known today as the Air Max Uptempo 95.
As its name suggests, the Nike Air Max Uptempo 95 was released in 1995 and is set to return next year for its 30th anniversary. It was the third installment of Nike’s heavily cushioned Uptempo basketball line, which ran throughout the 1990s and included other classic designs such as the Air More Uptempo, made famous on the court by Scottie Pippen. Prior to the Air More Uptempo, Pippen was one of the NBA top names who wore the Air Max Uptempo 95 along with Kevin Garnett and then-college stars such as Ray Allen and Tim Duncan.
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While not quite as bold in its styling as its Air More Uptempo relative, the Air Max Uptempo 95 was an aggressive design for its time. It was Nike’s first basketball shoe to use full-length visible Air cushioning, expanding on the Air Max2 heel unit of its predecessor. With a puffy, padded upper, the Air Max Uptempo 95 doubled down on Swoosh logos.
“The Air Max Uptempo basketball shoe is for big, fast, crashing-down-from-the-boards like-o-meteorite kind of players. The earth is protected from them by the most Nike-Air cushioning we’ve ever put into one sole,” reads an original ’95 Nike advertisement for the shoe.
The Nike Air Max Uptempo 95 OG will return in ’25 in its original “White/White/Black/Mystic Teal” colorway. It’s expected to be released on March 9 for a retail price of $165. The 2011 iteration of the shoe is pictured below.
