Despite the basketball shoe category’s recent struggles, today’s top athletic brands are Nike Air Max Command Damen still investing millions into showcasing product. (The extravagant events throughout Los Angeles for NBA Nike Blazer Mujer All-Star Weekend are proof.) But sneaker industry experts still don’t have faith that the hoops sneaker market will rebound anytime soon.
“The consumer is very clearly spelling out for us that they want non-performance footwear right now, and I Nike Air Force 1 Mujerdon’t see basketball growing in 2018,” said Matt Powell, senior industry adviser for sports with The NPD Group. “It’s not a matter of product; it’s a matter more of the big fashion trends.”According to data provided by Powell and NPD, the top three Nike Air Max 90 Damen Pink sneakers at retail in 2017 were the Nike Tanjun, the low Chuck Taylor All Star and the Nike Air Huarache, none of which Adidas Tubular Mujer is a performance basketball style.
Stephen Curry Fans Now Have a Mobile Trivia Game to Play
LeBron James Tops NBA's Best-Selling Signature Shoe List for 2017
And Peng Cheng, owner of the West Coast-based boutique Bait, agrees — despite a Adidas ZX 850 Damen recent uptick in basketball shoe sales in his store’s doors. But his reason for why the category is performing poorly isn’t that the looks are no longer fashionable.Aside from trends and too many products on retail shelves, Cheng believes there’s Adidas NMD Damen another issue hindering the category’s growth in 2018 — which he suspects applies more to Nike than other brands.

“There are some distinguishable design aesthetics between [Nike signature] lines that you can tell if you are in the business, but to Nike Air Presto Hombre the public, a lot of the shoes could easily be someone else’s shoe. Every shoe looks very similar,” Cheng said.Nike Air Huarache Damen “The new LeBron [James] shoe could very easily have a ‘KD’ [Kevin Durant] logo on it. I just don’t see any significant design aesthetic changes every year, and that may be because of the technology — I don’t know if that limits the design Nike Air Force 1 Damen styles.”
“I don’t see [basketball sneakers] becoming popular anytime soon, but I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as the last four years, and it’s picking up — I see that in my stores, too,” Cheng said. “[And] don’t think it will ever come back Adidas Superstar Mujer because there are frankly too many SKUs that every brand puts out, and there’s no more collectability to the basketball lines. Adidas ZX 700 Mujer That’s what has driven that business.