Nike Announces the 10 Most Popular SNKRS Releases of 2025
Is Nike all about retro releases now?
The end of 2025 draws near, and Nike has shared its fourth annual recap of the most popular SNKRS releases of the year. While the data is limited to US-based sneakerheads’ behavior, it illustrates a significant shift in how the brand is generating energy. For starters, Travis Scott’s three-year streak of taking first place on the list with an Air Jordan 1 Low OG collaboration has ended, although it surely would’ve continued had his pair featuring fragment design hit the app.
Despite celebrating its 40th anniversary and being the centerpiece of many campaigns, the AJ1 failed to make this year’s list. Previously, 2024 featured four AJ1s, 2023 included two in its top five, and 2022 had four as well. While La Flame was responsible for most of those, it does signal that the torch has officially been passed, but to which model?
2024 was the year of the AJ4, and while the sneaker carried over this momentum with high-powered collaborations and much-anticipated re-releases, it was the AJ11 that claimed this year’s first-place spot with the reissue of the “Gamma” colorway. The model’s 30th anniversary celebration didn’t take center stage until the final quarter of the year, with regional releases aiding in driving hype for the silhouette, one that had never previously graced these year-end SNKRS recap lists.
All 10 sneakers on the list are connected to one sport: basketball. Jordan Brand’s six contributions are complemented by four from the Nike Basketball family. While both the Nike Kobe 6 and 8 Protro have been back on the market for years now, they remain bestsellers. The return of the Kobe 8 “What The” performed best, taking fourth place, while two new takes on the Kobe 6 also made the list.
Travis Scott’s Jordan Jumpman Jack is the only model on the list that is younger than a decade old. However, this is nothing new. Previously, the youngest shoe to grace these lists was 2010’s Nike Kobe 6 Protro. There is something to be said about the shift from being collaboration-centric to retro-heavy. Six sneakers are re-releases, matching the combined number of retros across these lists over the past three years. Meanwhile, only two collab pairs made it, a sharp drop from an average of 77% collaborations over the past three years. Dive into the complete list and revisit our articles on each pair below.
- Air Jordan 11 “Gamma”
- Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4 “Brick by Brick”
- Air Jordan 4 “Black Cat”
- Nike Kobe 8 Protro “What The”
- Air Jordan 12 “Flu Game”
- Air Jordan 5 “Black Metallic Reimagined”
- Nike Air Foamposite One “Galaxy”
- Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Dodgers”
- Nike Kobe 6 Protro “All-Star”
- Travis Scott x Jordan Jumpman Jack “Bright Cactus”
Is the key to Nike’s current hype formula looking to the past? Which pairs did you go for this year? Let us know if you caught any major Ws, and good luck with your copping attempts in 2026.
