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Can’t Get No Respect.
Welcome to today’s Nice Kick’s Throwback Thursday. Today, we discuss another long-lost mid-90s basketball silhouette, a takedown model which now, years later, is fondly remembered by old school basketball enthusiasts and collectors: the 1994 Nike Air Pound.
Throughout the 1990s, Nike produced myriad of basketball sneakers ranging from the 1997 Foamposite One to more affordable takedowns such as the 1997 Air Winged Flight, 1995 Air DVST8, and the example discussed here, the Air Pound.
Named as an honorable mention by Sole Collector in its list of Top 10 USA Basketball shoes, the Air Pound was part of the Nike Force collection and served as a takedown of the Air Strong.
A cousin to the women’s Air Assist, the Air Pound featured basic Nike sneaker technology including a full grain leather and Durabuck upper, visible heel air sole unit and lateral outrigger designed for guards.
A versatile model, the Air Pound released in a multitude of team colorways, in low, mid, and high versions and was worn on court by several NBA guards including Pooh Richardson of the L.A. Clippers and Mark Price during the 1994 FIBA World Championships of Basketball.
Also, of note, Robert Horry wore the Air Pound in the black/white-black colorway seen here throughout the 1995 Playoffs, as did Penny Hardaway, the latter in a classic Foot Locker commercial with the late Phil Hartman as the host of a fictitious game show called Hoop Hi Jinx.
https://youtu.be/X2pPUCiLcU4
Finally, both Tim Hardaway and Reggie Miller wore custom Air Pound PEs during the 1994 World Championships, complete with their individual jersey number on the heel. Additionally, Tim’s PE pair also displayed the words “Air Hardaway” across the tongue.
The shoe’s affordable price point, sadly, could not compensate for many of its design and comfort shortcomings including lack of cushioning and high arch.
In August 1996, Eastbay offered the Air Pound at a sale price of just $49.99, a discount off the sneaker’s original retail price of $80.
Nearly 25 years following its release, the Air Pound remains a distant yet fond memory within the minds and hearts of vintage Nike basketball enthusiasts and collectors, a true artifact from that classic 90s era, likely never to receive a retro.
Pound for Pound, one of the most underrated, understated, and underappreciated mid-90s basketball sneakers ever produced by Nike.
Respect earned.
