We can’t deny the fact that Ye is a man of many talents. From producing music and rapping to designing our favorite lifestyle sneakers, he’s got it all! And so, during his time at Adidas, he tried some sneaker experiments, including bleaching Yeezys and producing kicks made out of algae. And it didn’t stop there as Ye went out and joined the basketball court to produce basketball Yeezys! Was Yeezy trying to box out the Jumpman with that move?
The Military Invasion of Basketball Yeezys
So, there was a time back in 2020 when Kanye was in a good mood. So good that he decided to give away FREE BASKETBALL YEEZYS! And it’s not even that. He decided to give the YZY QNTMs away in heavy armored military trucks! Way to be extra Ye.
Thing is, we’re cool with the fact that Kanye was giving away free Yeezys. That’s pretty cool. Well, until a few desperate sneakerheads went to the point of taking off their own Nike Air Fear of God sneakers in exchange for the Yeezy Quantum! We have no idea what that was about. Would you give up a sneaker that was and still is selling for over $1.5K on resale platforms for a sneaker that hasn’t even dropped yet? That’s Kanye’s genius marketing tactics for you!
Yeezy Quantum
So, the Yeezy Basketball Quantum was the first-ever Yeezy performance basketball sneaker to ever drop. At first glance, it’s kinda built like a Yeezy Boost 380 crossed with a 700 V3, but with a much higher ankle collar.
This basketball Yeezy initially dropped in two iterations, a lifestyle and a basketball one. The only difference is that the YZY BSKTBL Quantum doesn’t have reflective 3M stitchings in it because it would totally be banned on the court. And so the QNTMs weren’t only the first basketball Yeezys to ever drop, but their first production was also limited to only 5000 pairs!
Yeezy BSKTBL QUANTUM
Release Date: February 14th – 16th, 2020 (All-Star Weekend)
Retail Price: $250
Average Resale: $195
Yeezy BSKTBL KNIT
The QNTMs weren’t the only basketball Yeezys that ever dropped. But a year after dropping them, Ye introduced the BSKTBL KNIT. Here, there was no exchange with thousands of dollars worth of kicks. On the contrary, some fans outright rejected the sneakers. But others were into the completely new design as they looked forward to it.
So, the first BSKTBL KNIT to drop was the 3D Slate Blue, which borrowed some of the QNTM and 350 V2 CMPCT designs to perfectly fit the basketball court. You’ve got a BSKTBL QNTM-like soles, while it borrowed the Primenknit construction of the V2s to design the sock-like uppers. So, if you’re into such designs, you can find this basketball Yeezy on sites like StockX for less than their retail prices.
Yeezy BSKTBL KNIT
Release Date: December 18th, 2021
Retail Price: $300
Average Resale: $160
Yeezy 500
Officially, the 500s are not basketball Yeezys. But when an NBA player, like Nick Young, wears the Blush Yeezy 500s during a game against the Knicks, we can’t not mention them. And in reality, this wasn’t the first time Young wore Yeezys for a game. He’s actually big on streetwear brands, and on Yeezy, specifically.
Now, although not top-tier, some consider the 500s to have got pretty good traction. Impact protection can pass as adequate and the adiPRENE doesn’t look bad on these Yeezys. Other sneakerheads have something else to say when it comes to the 500. They consider it one of the ugliest Yeezys to ever drop. But different people, different opinions, you know?
Yeezy 500 Blush
Release Date: February 16th, 2018
Retail Price: $200
Average Resale: $282
On a final note, make sure to keep it locked on our blog and Instagram @aiobot for the latest sneaker news and drops!