Sneaker of the Year: The Roundup of Our Five Category Winners
Our sneaker of the year roundup for 2025 named five winners: the Air Jordan 11 “Gamma” (retro), the adidas AE 1 (performance), the Chase B x Jordan Jumpman Jack (collab), the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low (SB Dunk) and the adidas Adistar Jellyfish (comeback). The 2025 releases among them with a confirmed retail price ran from $150 to $300 in the reports linked below.
- Retro: Air Jordan 11 “Gamma”, released 13 December 2025 at $235, per the 9 December 2025 drop list.
- Collab: Chase B x Jordan Jumpman Jack, released 19 December 2025 at $200, per the 16 December 2025 drop list.
- Comeback: adidas VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish, released 23 August 2025 at $300, per the 19 August 2025 drop list.
- Performance: adidas AE 1, whose AE1 Low “Arctic Night” colorway was released 15 March 2025 at $150, per the 14 March 2025 listing.
Which retro did we pick for 2025?
The Air Jordan 11 “Gamma”, which we also call the Gamma Blue, was our pick for best retro of 2025. It released on 13 December 2025 through Nike SNKRS at $235, according to Hypebeast’s 9 December drop list, which described it as a recreation of the 2013 colorway: a black upper with a black patent leather mudguard, gamma blue with gold touches on the branding, and an icy translucent outsole.
That listing placed the release inside the Air Jordan 11’s 30th anniversary celebrations, and 30 years before 2025 puts the original in 1995.
It was a milestone year for the whole line too, because the outlet’s January 2025 release preview noted that 2025 marked 40 years of the Air Jordan 1. We covered that run of drops in our rundown of the 40th anniversary lineup, and this pair has its own page in our Jordan 11 Gamma Blue write-up.
Which performance shoe did we pick, the AE 1 or the LeBron 23?
The adidas AE 1 was our pick for best performance shoe, with the Nike LeBron 23 as the other contender, and we chose it mostly to stir the pot. The model itself is older than 2025: its “Best of Adi” colorway launched on 1 March 2024 at a starting price of $120, according to a report from 29 February 2024.
It kept dropping in 2025, with the AE1 Low “Arctic Night” released on 15 March 2025 at an MSRP of $150, according to Hypebeast’s 14 March 2025 release report, and a September 2025 report priced the follow-up AE 2 at $130.
The Nike LeBron 23 debuted with the gold “Uncharted” colorway on 3 October 2025 at $210 on SNKRS, according to the 30 September 2025 drop list. That report described it as the 23rd entry in the LeBron line, a run of 23 colorways centered on key moments from his career. We wrote about both models in our adidas AE1 article and our LeBron 23 piece.
Why did the Chase B Jumpman Jack win best collab?
The Chase B x Jordan Jumpman Jack won best collab because of the story behind it. Travis Scott’s right-hand man, DJ Chase B, put together his own take on the Jordan Jumpman Jack, the model Scott made with Jordan Brand. It released on 19 December 2025 through SNKRS at $200, according to the 16 December 2025 drop list.
That report described a black and light gray upper with pink and 3M detailing, finished with a glow-in-the-dark green outsole.
This category tends to go to a Jordan, and often to a Travis Scott pair. This one is both in a roundabout way: a Jordan, built on a Scott model, with his DJ’s name on it. We argued about it, as we did about every category, and it won on the story. The full background is in our Chase B Jumpman Jack article.
What did the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low pack include?
The Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low pack was our pick for best Nike SB Dunk, and it held five colorways in leather, nubuck and suede. According to a 2 September 2025 report, White came in leather with a 3M reflective Swoosh and Black in nubuck, both as global releases.
Blue in suede was a North America exclusive and Green in suede was for Asia. Purple was a Europe and UK colorway, not a global one, according to the same 2 September 2025 report. That report gave 4 September for Supreme’s webstore and shops and 6 September for Asia.
The price is the one figure we could not confirm. A January 2025 listing for a Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low “Black” in premium black suede, part of a five-pair pack, gave an MSRP of $135, but it does not say whether that pair is the one in the September release, and a 3 September 2025 drop list showed the release price as TBD. Our own coverage is in our Supreme Nike SB Dunk Low pack article.
Why was the Adistar Jellyfish our comeback pick?
The adidas VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish was our pick for best comeback because it put the adidas and Pharrell Williams partnership back in front of everyone. Pharrell and adidas had teased the shoe since Paris Fashion Week in January 2025, and it released on 23 August 2025 at $300 through adidas, according to the 19 August 2025 drop list.
On 26 October 2025 a fourth colorway, Blue, went on sale at the adidas Brand Center in Las Vegas at the shoe’s usual $300, per a report from that day.
The price is steep next to the other winners. Going by the Hypebeast prices in the table below, the Jellyfish at $300 sits $65 above the Gamma, because $300 minus $235 is $65. The same sum gives $90 above the LeBron 23 ($300 minus $210) and $150 above the AE1 Low ($300 minus $150). Read those gaps as differences between retail listings, nothing more. For the background, see our VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish article and our recap of the Pharrell partnership.
The pairs and their retail prices
The table lists each winner, and the contenders mentioned above, with its release date, its retail price and the dated report each figure came from. Prices are in US dollars and are retail prices as reported at the time, not resale prices. Retail is what the brand or store listed on release day, which is a different number from what a pair sells for later. Where a price could not be confirmed, the cell says so.
Category Pair Release date Retail price Source Best retro Air Jordan 11 “Gamma” 13 December 2025 $235 Report of 9 Dec 2025 Best performance shoe (AE 1 line, 2025 colorway) adidas AE1 Low “Arctic Night” 15 March 2025 $150 Report of 14 Mar 2025 Earlier AE 1 colorway adidas AE 1 “Best of Adi” 1 March 2024 $120 starting price Report of 29 Feb 2024 Performance contender Nike LeBron 23 “Uncharted” 3 October 2025 $210 Report of 30 Sep 2025 Follow-up model adidas Anthony Edwards 2 Priced in a report of 11 Sep 2025 $130 Report of 11 Sep 2025 Best collab Chase B x Jordan Jumpman Jack 19 December 2025 $200 Report of 16 Dec 2025 Best SB Dunk Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low pack 4 September 2025 (Asia 6 September) Not confirmed ($135 appeared in a Jan 2025 listing for a Black suede pair; not tied to the September pack) Report of 2 Sep 2025, report of 23 Jan 2025 Best comeback adidas VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish 23 August 2025 $300 Report of 19 Aug 2025 Among the four 2025 releases of our winners with a confirmed price, the gap between the cheapest and the dearest is $150, because $300 minus $150 is $150, from the AE1 Low to the Jellyfish. As the table shows, the Chase B pair at $200 and the Gamma at $235 sit between them. Market prices move and are shown for reference, not as a promise.
Why does this roundup have no resale prices?
This roundup shows retail prices only. A resale price changes by the day, and it can be checked only when it names the marketplace and the date of a sold listing. A number with neither beside it cannot be checked at all, so it stays out. Retail prices are different, because brands and stores publish them at release, and each one here sits beside the dated report it came from.
If you want a resale figure for any of these pairs, look at sold listings on a resale marketplace and write the date next to the number. A dated sold listing shows what a pair sold for on that day, which is a record and not a forecast. For the year before, see our Best Sneakers of 2024 roundup.
