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Preview data: all rankings, scores, votes, refresh labels, methodology, testing and editorial-process statements in Top 49 are illustrative demo content, not live measurements or documented reviews.
Rank 17—No change
#17 in Sneakers
of 18 ranked entries
Nike Cortez
Nike · Debut 1972
One of Nike’s first-ever shoes, designed by Bill Bowerman for distance runners before the brand had much else to sell. It’s survived on nostalgia and a genuinely comfortable last more than on any performance case in 2026. Recorded specifics: debut 1972, brand Nike, retail 90. Panel highlighted genuinely comfortable last for all-day casual wear, one of the most historically significant Nike models and simple two-tone build suits minimalist wardrobes. The reservation on record is cushioning is dated compared to any current running shoe.
LifestyleRunning
Score breakdown
How Nike Cortez earned 73.2
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Sneakers.
- Comfort over distanceweight 30%
- 70.6
- Outsole & upper durabilityweight 30%
- 75.5
- Design influenceweight 20%
- 74.1
- Value at resaleweight 20%
- 72.7
On the record
Recorded detail
| Debut | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Brand | Nike |
| Retail | $90 |
| Rating | 7.2 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Genuinely comfortable last for all-day casual wear
- One of the most historically significant Nike models
- Simple two-tone build suits minimalist wardrobes
Where it gives ground
- Cushioning is dated compared to any current running shoe
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
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Nike · Debut 1985
Banned-shoe marketing aside, the Air Jordan 1’s real legacy is proving a basketball shoe could outlive the athlete’s career entirely. The leather uppers on original Chicago pairs from the 1980s are still intact in serious collections forty years on.
97.9/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 02Editor’s pickNike Air Force 1
Nike · Debut 1982
The Air-Sole unit in the original 1982 model was a genuine engineering leap, and the shoe has stayed in continuous production longer than any other Nike basketball silhouette without a single major redesign — the surest sign it never needed one.
96.3/100 Top 49 score1Up 1
Rank 03Editor’s pickAdidas Samba
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Designed for footballers training on frozen ground in 1950, the gum sole and low-profile leather upper turned out to be an almost perfect casual shoe seventy years later. Nothing about it was redesigned for the 2020s revival — it didn’t need to be.
95.4/100 Top 49 score4Up 4
Rank 04New Balance 990v6
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93.8/100 Top 49 score3Up 3
Rank 05Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66
Onitsuka Tiger · Debut 1966
The stripe design that would later become Asics’ running shoes started here, on a shoe built for the 1966 Mexico City altitude conditions. The suede-and-nylon build is light, breathable, and has barely changed in sixty years.
92.8/100 Top 49 score2Up 2
Rank 06Nike Air Max 1
Nike · Debut 1987
Tinker Hatfield’s visible Air unit was inspired by the exposed-pipe architecture of the Centre Pompidou, and exposing what had been a hidden cushioning technology turned out to be the single most copied idea in sneaker design.
90.9/100 Top 49 score3Down 3
Rank 07Converse Chuck 70
Converse · Debut 2018 (reissue of 1970s Chuck Taylor)
The Chuck 70 exists because the modern Chuck Taylor All Star got cheaper and thinner over the decades, and Converse eventually admitted it by reissuing the heavier canvas and better rubber of the 1970s version as a separate, pricier line.
89.2/100 Top 49 score2Up 2
Rank 08Editor’s pickAdidas Gazelle
Adidas · Debut 1966
A training shoe from 1966 that has now outlived at least three separate waves of its own popularity. The suede upper and low-cut build are genuinely simple, which is exactly why every revival has changed almost nothing.
87.0/100 Top 49 score1Down 1
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Top 49 rankings are editorial. Scores are produced from the published criteria on each list and are refreshed on the cadence stated there. Figures shown across this section are curated demonstration data.