This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Tomorrow’s release of the Doernbecher Nike Air Max Penny 1 has a lot of folks talking. While Doernbecher Jordans are frequently the attention getter from snearkerheads year after year from the Doernbecher Freestyle program, these Penny 1s are not to be overlooked.
In celebration of this Penny 1, we’ve decided to take a look back at all of the Penny 1s that have released since 1996 and assembled a list of the 12 best Nike Air Max Penny 1 releases of all time.
Where would you rank the Doernbecher Penny 1s?
#12 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Highlighter Pack”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Highlighter Pack”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Highlighter Pack”
Released: May 26, 2011
The Nike Air Max Penny 1 had a HUGE year in 2011 with a major retro campaign surrounding the anticipated bringback of the “Orlando” colorway. While many heads were satisfied with just the OG colorway, the shoe demonstrated how well it could take and block colors including the pop of lime green. This pair was an exclusive to House of Hoops making the grab even harder for those not near one of the few locations they had in 2011.
#11 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Hoop Pack”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Hoop Pack” (pic via Sneaker Freaker)
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Hoop Pack”
Released: 2005
Before there were sneaker blogs, Nike released a limited “Hoops Pack” that brought back some great Nike Basketball silhouettes in the summer of 2005. The Nike Air Max Penny 1 was part of this limited pack that is now absolutely impossible to track down.
#10 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Chicago”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Chicago”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Chicago”
Released: January 2007
Jordan Brand celebrates the teams that Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls defeated during their reign, shouldn’t Penny get to do the same? Penny Hardaway and the Orlando Magic knocked out MJ and the Bulls in the 1995 NBA Playoffs – was this shoe done to remind Bulls Nation of this?
#9 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Ripstop”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Ripstop”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Ripstop”
Released: June 2011
All Black Everything was all the rage and these Penny 1s were a solid execution. The shoe sported a crease resistent ripstop nylon upper, trimmed out in all black, and a smoked outsole. The shoe only released at House of Hoops stores again making the chase that much harder and expensive.
#8 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Wolf Grey”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Wolf Grey”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Wolf Grey”
Released: May 2011
In the summer of 2011, Jordan Brand had every retro head (and George Kiel III) chasing the “Wolf Grey” Air Jordan 5. These dropped the same month as the retro Jordans, but were far from being just a consolation prize.
#7 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Suns”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Suns”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Suns”
Released: January 14, 2011
Like I stated earlier, the year of 2011 was a BIG one for the Nike Air Max Penny 1. Nike Sportswear made sure to hit us on the first payday of the year with the release of this Penny 1 dressed up in Phoenix Suns colors to honor his time out west.
#6 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “University Red”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “University Red”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “University Red”
Released: November 29, 2014
No team that Penny played for was the story behind this Nike Air Max Penny 1 – just a hot colorway. While many people were busy chasing down the Black/Infrared Air Jordan 6 on Black Friday, a lot opted for these. To the surprise of many, these sold out VERY quickly at Nike and other retailers. If you missed out, the good news is that resale prices are not that bad above retail on eBay.
#5 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “All Star Game”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “All Star Game”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “All Star Game”
Released: October 25, 2014
Sleeper of the year? This colorway was sported by Penny Hardaway in the greatest All-Star Game sneaker lineup ever in 1996. The shoe is almost entirely blacked out except for small hits of Orlando blue trim. Pairs are still available at many retailers, but they won’t last very long if any discount stickers come out.
#4 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Home”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 OG “Home”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Home”
Released: 1996
The Penny 1 doesn’t make many appearances in a white based colorway, but these will be well received when Nike brings them back. Currently they are not on any retro release calendar, but one can hope we won’t have to wait too much longer for this OG color.
#3 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Knicks”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Knicks” (pic via abernja of NikeTalk)
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Knicks”
Released: 2005
After playing out west in Phoenix, Penny Hardaway returned to the Eastern Conference suiting up for the New York Knicks. Nike wasted no time releasing these in his first season with the Knicks as a quickstrike. The shoe came before the era of sneaker blogs and was snatched up very quickly across the country. Easily these are one of the best “Knicks” colored kicks of all time. Time for a re-release?
#2 – Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Penny 1
Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Penny 1
Shoe: Sole Collector x Nike Air Penny 1
Released: October 29, 2011
Nike Sportswear tapped the shoulder of Sole Collector to cook up a set of the Penny line for a special event held in Las Vegas. Nick DePaula of Sole Collector created the set including this Nike Air Max Penny 1. While Penny never played in his colorway in Orlando, I am confident that he wishes he did. We rank them higher than the OG “Home” colorway not because they are a limited collab – because they are that great.
#1 – Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Orlando”
Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Orlando”
Shoe: Nike Air Max Penny 1 “Orlando”
Released: 1996, 2000, January 2007, March 11, 2011
How do you beat an original? The “Orlando” colorway of the Nike Air Max Penny 1 was rumored by some blogs to return in 2014 with the most recent campaign around the silhouette, but with a few weeks left in December, it doesn’t look like that will be happening. Nike first retroed this shoe in 2000 while Penny was still an active player making history as the first retro for an active signature basketball player.
