Are you ready peeps? This is the rundown you’ve been waiting for. The one where we give you the most biased and unhinged breakdown of the best sneakers that dropped throughout the year. If you weren’t following us, the NSB team previously picked their all-time favorite sneakers. But that’s not all, because we also talked about all the industry changes that went down this year. Now, if you’re all caught up on that, it’s time to kick it up a notch with our Sneaker of the Year awards! Of course, heated debates went on, but we finally settled on the best ones… kinda. So, let’s jump right into it, shall we?
Sneaker of the Year – The Best Kicks Per Category!
Best Retro of 2025
This year, we got so many retros and comebacks, it was very hard to keep track! After all, 2025 marked Jordan Brand’s 40th anniversary with many hot drops, especially retros. And of course, there must be one that stood out in all the chaos: the Air Jordan 11 Gamma Blue! These babies are the perfect mix of style, history, and value. You can actually flip them for about $350 on the resale market, making $100+ in profit per pair.
Best Performance Shoe
Signature sneakers were on a roll this year, and we were all sat for it all. Sneaker and basketball enthusiasts were both in for treats because all the drops were taking style and performance to new levels! Now, the top 2 contenders this year are the Adidas AE1 and LeBron 23. So, just for the fun of it, we decided to stir it up and pick the AE1! So, if we’re looking for the sneaker of the year in terms of performance, that would be it.
Best Collab
Okay, okay, you know where this is going. It’s always a Jordan, and it’s almost always a Travis Scott. But if you thought that we’d pick the Fragment 1s, that’s where you’re wrong. The team chose to go with the Chase B Jumpman Jack because it’s a cool shoe with a cool story of friendship. And well, it does help that these kicks are worth $300+ in resale!
Best Nike SB Dunk
We got so many Nike SB Dunks this year that we had to add a category. And before we carry on, we’re pretty sure you already know which kicks will take the cake. The Supreme SB Dunk Low drop was one that many waited impatiently for, and it delivered! All the colorways were solid, but the most popular and most profitable was the purple pair. It currently stands at a resale value of $364 on average!
Best Comeback
2025 was certainly full of surprises and high expectations. But nobody expected the Adidas x Pharrell partnership to come back with a bang! We’re all familiar with Adidas’ ability to kill collaborations, but this one took everyone by surprise. You see, the Adistar Jellyfish dropped, and everyone wanted a piece. In fact, these babies are currently worth $1,120 on average in resale! Although the price tag of $300 is a bit higher than usual, it’s safe to say that you can easily make it up. And that’s definitely sneaker of the year material.
What’s Next?
Now that we’re done with our sneaker of the year round-up, it’s time to focus on the future! Luckily, our blog has it all covered for you, as well as how to buy those cool upcoming drops for retail. So, keep it locked on here, because the year is definitely gonna be feisty. Godspeed!
