Baker's Top Ten Shoes of All Time - #5 Nike Huarache 2k4

I probably gave this one away when the 2k5 made the list, because the 2k4 is even better. This shoe provided a serious life raft for the basketball shoe market when Nike unleashed its marketing campaign during March Madness of 2004. 2002 - 204 were awful sneaker years and it seemed that Nike had all but given up on innovation in its hoop shoes. This shoe dropped and revolutionized the shoe game once again. It had a post-modern look, both retro and futuristic. It was light and not clunky like the awful SHOX that guys were wearing (sorry Alan). This shoe was a huge breath of fresh air. To top it all off, Nike made it available on NikeID so you could customize it. You can often tell a great shoe by its lasting power in the NBA. Raja Bell, Tony Parker and a few others were wore this shoe until 2008, when they finally switched to the Hyperdunk - that's years in NBA shoe time. Kobe swears that it is the best shoe ever made and has modeled his recent signatures after it (see his Player Edition below). UH has its 2k4 devotees as well: Young Luv, Doug Everling, Jordan Ruff, J.J. Kuhn and John "Todd Squad" Hutchins all wore these until their soles fell off. Then they bought new ones.