Category: News

Kevin Durant is the NBA’s most online superstar. His tweets from his younger years remain some of the best the app has ever seen from an athlete, and he’s never afraid to mix it up with folks online, either on Twitter or in Instagram comments, for better or worse.

As such, KD doesn’t miss much when it comes to the online discourse of the NBA, and that includes viral snippets from the various sports talk shows. During Thursday night’s NBA All-Star Draft, Durant took Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic and couldn’t help but jab at ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins in the process.

For those who haven’t seen it, Perk’s attempt at saying “Vucevic” on First Take while discussing All-Star snubs and who he’d remove from the team was hilarious.

The internet had a field day with Perk for his inability to get Nikola’s name out, including this personal favorite of mine.

KD’s brief troll was a highlight of the All-Star Draft, although not quite as good as Charles Barkley calling both of them out for “Utah Jazz slander” when they left Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell for last, prompting LeBron to insist it wasn’t slander and then proceed to explain how no one has ever liked the Jazz no matter how good they are.

The 2021 NBA All-Star Draft featured LeBron James and Kevin Durant picking their squads and at the end of the process, there were two names left standing: Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.

That the two All-Stars from the team with the NBA’s best record were the last selected was not going to be something anyone could ignore, and Charles Barkley couldn’t help but call out what he saw as “Utah Jazz slander” from KD and LeBron for leaving them for last.

James would address the situation at the end, insisting there was no slander and then proceeded to, well, kind of slander the entire organization’s history.

“There’s no slander to the Utah Jazz,” LeBron said. “You’ve got to understand, just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah. As great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we would never pick those guys in video games.”

It’s a hysterical line, but Chuck wasn’t buying it, noting that when he said he needed size he passed over the taller Gobert for Domantas Sabonis.

It was the highlight of the night, along with LeBron promising he wouldn’t be tampering this year, and made for a delightful end to the All-Star Draft. In case the Jazz, which spent Wednesday night ripping into the officiating they’ve received this season, needed any added motivation going into the second half of the season, their top stars got it on Thursday.

The NBA All-Star Draft was held on Wednesday (airing on Thursday night), as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, the leading vote-getters in the West and East respectively, selected their rosters for the upcoming All-Star Game on Sunday. Durant won’t be playing in the game himself, as he works to rehab a lingering hamstring injury, so he had to make an extra selection in the first round, while James selected players for the fourth straight year, as he’s been a captain each time.

Back in 2019, while Anthony Davis was in the midst of his trade request that was focused on getting himself to Los Angeles to play with the Lakers, and James selected him first in the draft and immediately got called out for tampering by Giannis Antetokounmpo. This year, Giannis (who just signed a supermax in Milwaukee) went first to Team LeBron. As James explained when pressed by Kenny Smith if he’s drafting for the All-Star team or for the Lakers this year, there aren’t any free agents on the list so his selections were all about this weekend.

The results were strong for Team LeBron, as his starting group is himself, Giannis, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic. Still, it was a funny moment, at least for some, while others might not have enjoyed the lighthearted joking about LeBron swiping players from other teams to join him.

The 2021 NBA All-Star Game arrives on Sunday, March 7 in Atlanta, and it will be a much different experience this year. In fact, Sunday houses the entirety of the league’s All-Star Weekend festivities, and that adds a bit of intrigue. For the fourth time, the rosters were selected via a draft this week, with LeBron James and Kevin Durant acting as captains for the two squads.

While our mock draft didn’t quite flow in the exact same way, the results were still quite interesting. James has been a captain each and every time the league has used the draft format, while Durant, who is not playing due to injury, was at the helm for the first time.

The draft itself took place on Wednesday, a full day before the release of the proceedings on television. As such, it wasn’t too shocking that one of the picks leaked early, with Team LeBron tabbing Giannis Antetokounmpo with the first pick.

From there, though, there was genuine mystery, and even more so after Durant admitted that he didn’t actually prepare for the draft itself, leaning instead on the experience of playing against this batch of players. By rule, the captains went back and forth with only the pool of starters available (and Jayson Tatum replacing Durant in the pool), and the flow went this way.

1. LeBron James (Team LeBron) — Captain
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Team LeBron)
3. Kyrie Irving (Team Durant)
4. Stephen Curry (Team LeBron)
5. Joel Embiid (Team Durant)
6. Luka Doncic (Team LeBron)
7. Kawhi Leonard (Team Durant)
8. Nikola Jokic (Team LeBron)
9. Bradley Beal (Team Durant)
10. Jayson Tatum (Team Durant)

After the starting lineups were set on both sides, Durant had the first pick for the reserves, countering LeBron’s advantage as the leading overall vote-getter. Things flowed from there, with Durant tabbing his Nets teammate in James Harden, and the final picks in the draft were both members of the Utah Jazz in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

1. James Harden (Team Durant)
2. Damian Lillard (Team LeBron)
3. Devin Booker (Team Durant)
4. Ben Simmons (Team LeBron)
5. Zion Williamson (Team Durant)
6. Chris Paul (Team LeBron)
7. Zach LaVine (Team Durant)
8. Jaylen Brown (Team LeBron)
9. Julius Randle (Team Durant)
10. Paul George (Team LeBron)
11. Nikola Vucevic (Team Durant)
12. Domantas Sabonis (Team LeBron)
13. Donovan Mitchell (Team Durant)
14. Rudy Gobert (Team LeBron)

The game is scheduled for an 8:00 pm ET tip-off at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, with the national broadcast on TNT.

Here are the final rosters, in order of selection.

TEAM LEBRON: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons, Chris Paul, Jaylen Brown

TEAM KD: Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, Bradley Beal, Jayson Tatum, James Harden, Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, Zach Lavine, Julius Randle

The politicization of basic public health measures amid the coronavirus pandemic has had deadly consequences for hundreds of thousands of Americans over the last year. Despite all of the evidence that wearing masks, limiting gatherings and staying socially distant can help limit the spread of coronavirus and prevent hospitalizations and deaths, many Republican-led cities and states have held off on mandating masks be worn in public and instituting other health policies.

Yet as vaccinations continue in America and optimism is growing that with their help and continued vigilance the country could have a more normal summer than it had in 2020, entire states rolling back mask mandates and other restrictions has been criticized by public health officials and President Joe Biden.

In an interview earlier in the week, Biden described rolling back mandates as “Neanderthal thinking” and warned that continued support for mandates and caution would be important in order to stave off a fourth spike of cases since the virus first appeared in America last winter. That phrase, however, drew the ire of Marco Rubio, who tweeted that Biden should apologize for offending… people who descended from Neanderthals?

Rubio, who once was considered a viable Republican candidate for president before he forgot how hydration works, immediately trended on Thursday because of his Twitter take. But it was mostly to make fun of Rubio for feigning outrage for what many felt was valid criticism of “reopening” swaths of the country still caught up not only in a public health crisis but, in the case of Texas, an environmental one as well.

As plenty of people pointed out online, taking offense to Biden’s criticism is pretty wild compared to the many, many things Donald Trump said while in office that never drew criticism from Republicans like Rubio.

It’s also, well, kind of a silly thing to get mad about, scientifically. And in video that was shared again this week, Rubio was more than willing to promote conspiracies and questions about Biden’s mental health during the election. Things that, in the eyes of many, were far worse than a comment using the word “Neanderthal.”

The battle of words doesn’t undo anything Texas is doing with its health mandates, but it will be another entry into the culture war that’s already seen children’s books and toys represent the demise of America rather than what’s actually threatening it: the increasingly bad health of its citizens.

The relationship between Kevin Garnett and Glen Taylor has been tenuous for a long time. Garnett famously indicated in 2020 that he did not want to have his jersey retired by the Minnesota Timberwolves as long as Taylor was the owner but, just a few months later, word broke that Garnett was attempting to work with Taylor on a potential sale of the franchise. For a long time, it has been public knowledge that Taylor was willing to sell the team, with the general stipulation that the Wolves stay in Minneapolis. Still, no sale has taken place to this point and, on Thursday, Garnett released something of a statement on Instagram, both announcing that he is essentially closing the door on being part of a purchasing group and expressing all kinds of frustration.

Garnett says he “got the news that this process of trying to acquire the TWolves is over” but also shared the potential to “focus on other places,” invoking Seattle and Las Vegas. Obviously, Garnett is not too happy that the door is seemingly closed when it comes to the franchise he spent the majority of his career playing for, but another layer of the story emerged after the Hall of Famer player’s comments.

In short, Taylor publicly indicated that he was blissfully unaware of Garnett’s interest in the first place.

“Kevin never contacted me at all saying that he was interested,” Taylor told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Nor was his name listed on any of the buying groups that asked for financial information to review.”

This seems to strain credibility, but Taylor may be getting into specific details knowing that he can plead ignorance in this case. Regardless, it is a bit of a curveball for the Wolves owner to suggest that, after several months of speculation, Garnett wasn’t even a name that came across his desk.

On one hand, it seems as if this saga is over. On the other, Garnett could respond to Taylor’s denial and, well, that could open the door to the discourse once again.

An eight-second joke made by Michael Che on Saturday Night Live has sparked a weeks-long controversy about anti-Semitism, coronavirus, and vaccines in the Middle East. And nearly a fortnight after it aired, Fox News hosted the prime minister of Israel to condemn the joke on air.

The incident dates back to the February 20 episode of Saturday Night Live. During the Weekend Update segment of the program, Che read about a news item that celebrated Israel’s success vaccinating a big portion of its population.

“Israel is reporting that they vaccinated half of their population,” Che said. “And I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half.”

The reaction the next day was immediate. Che trended briefly and some conservatives condemned the comments as anti-Semitic and potentially reinforcing harmful stereotypes about Jews and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. And the Anti-Defamation League called the joke “deeply offensive.”

As the Washington Post laid out, however, there was some truth to the heart of the joke. Israel has received considerable criticism from global health leaders and Palestinian officials for not doing more to help those who are not Jewish to get vaccinated in the West Bank and other Israeli-controlled territories. Despite the great success Israel has seen in vaccinating Israelis, there are considerable barriers to getting the region’s full population vaccinated:

Palestinian leaders and international activists say Israel is obligated to ensure that Palestinians are vaccinated as quickly as possible.

“Israel bears moral and humanitarian responsibility for vaccinating the Palestinian population under its control,” said Physicians for Human Rights in an appeal to Israeli leaders Wednesday.

In an interview, Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein rejected that argument. But he acknowledged that it was in Israel’s self-interest to expand vaccinations into an adjacent population that sends thousands of workers into Israel on a daily basis.

That joke, which aired nearly two weeks ago now, has sparked minor protests and calls for NBC to comment on the situation. And neither NBC nor Che have addressed the slow-rolling controversy. And on Thursday, Fox News invited Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to address Che’s joke. He called it “outrageous” and “so false” and defended his country’s vaccine rollout.

“In fact, I brought vaccines and went especially to the Arab communities, the Arab citizens of Israel and vaccinated as many as we can,” Netanyahu said in an interview from Jerusalem. “I must’ve gone to half a dozen Arab communities already, talked with the mayors there, brought the leaders, brought the doctors there, Arab doctors, this is just outrageous.”

The politician’s account of apparently hand-delivering vaccines to Palestinians aside, the back and forth over vaccination policies, and the fallout from Che’s joke, has actually sparked calls from Israeli health officials who have recommended vaccinating all Palestinians as soon as possible, according to an NPR report. So while Che’s joke has certainly received criticism in the controversy, the actual situation he was joking about seems to have only gotten more attention and may have been addressed as a result.

On Thursday night, LeBron James and Kevin Durant will sit down in chairs somewhere and get brought in remotely to the Inside the NBA set, where the pair will put together their teams for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. The pair of captains are going to do what has become an All-Star tradition, although this year, there is a twist: Durant will not play in the game as he works his way back from a hamstring injury.

This has made the rosters a bit wonky, and for the purposes of the following very silly exercise, it made trying to figure out how to put a team together really tough. As a result, we came to a compromise wherein I, fake Kevin Durant, get two picks in the middle of the first round. My colleague Robby, as fake LeBron, still picks first in the starter round because he was the top overall vote getter, while I will pick first among the bench players. Please enjoy.

1. LeBron James (Team LeBron)

It is me, LeBron James.

2. Steph Curry (Team LeBron)

It’s the All-Star Game, so I’ll take the best shooter in the world. This is pretty simple.

3. Luka Doncic (Team KD)

My team’s singular goal is to put on as much of a show as possible. With no Kevin Durant (who, for all his brilliance, is more of a hyper efficient killer whose style doesn’t translate as well to the All-Star Game unless he plays like he did that time he went to Rucker Park), I need to go with the most fun player available and the person whose fun would best translate to the All-Star Game. This will be Luka Doncic. Admittedly, his fun is maximized by me putting the most bonkers team around him possible, and baby, just wait until you see my bench.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Team LeBron)

I worked under the assumption that, with Embiid gone, I might be able to sneak Jokic in at the very end and take Giannis now. I was foiled in this plan. Giannis is now my center.

5. Joel Embiid (Team KD)

Embiid is a master showman, and despite the fact that there is no crowd, I feel like he’s the exact kind of player who would make it a point to have a blast at the All-Star Game, especially now that he’s in the midst of an MVP-caliber season and this is an opportunity to flex a bit.

6. Kawhi Leonard (Team LeBron)

Kawhi is the reigning All-Star Game MVP and I got him this late. What a steal.

7. Nikola Jokic (Team KD)

My team is ginormous and has two masterful passers. I do not care if Luka and Jokic on the same team is hilariously slow, we’re going for it, baby. Let’s pass the basketball.

8. Bradley Beal (Team KD)

Need someone who can go supernova. Bradley Beal is a professional supernova goer.

9. Kyrie Irving (Team LeBron)

We’re getting the band back together.

10. Jayson Tatum (Team KD)

Could use a wing! Also, his sub has bacon.

LeBron Bench: Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Ben Simmons, Julius Randle, Nikola Vucevic, Domantas Sabonis

Now, some would think, LeBron, you don’t have much size in your starters group, surely you’ll go after size here, right? No. There are good centers to be had further down the line, so I continue to add shooting with Dame and the man I, LeBron James, called the most disrespected player in the NBA, Devin Booker. Chris Paul is sitting there and that’s my friend so of course I’m taking him. Ben Simmons is Klutch and also can give me some needed size, and then I round it all out with a bunch of big fellas at the end, all of whom can shoot because this is the All-Star Game and that’s what counts.

KD Bench: James Harden, Zion Williamson, Paul George, Zach LaVine, Jaylen Brown, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell

My entire strategy here was to maximize fun. My team will have James Harden, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic tossing lobs to Zion Williamson, Paul George, Zach LaVine, and Jaylen Brown, what is more fun than that? As an added bonus, I have Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell on the same team as Joel Embiid, which is extra fun considering the recent events in Philadelphia that occurred on Wednesday night. And from a basketball perspective, this bench is loaded with dudes who can get the right kind of scorching hot for an All-Star Game, because any of Harden, George, LaVine, Brown, and Mitchell are all capable of seeing the ball go in a few times and then having fireballs shoot from their hands. If this is not the point of the All-Star Game, what is? Also, to hammer this home, ZION.

The full rosters we selected, look as such:

TEAM LEBRON: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Ben Simmons, Julius Randle, Nikola Vucevic, Domantas Sabonis

TEAM KD: Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Bradley Beal, Jayson Tatum James Harden, Zion Williamson, Paul George, Zach LaVine, Jaylen Brown, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell

The Caesar Salad is a classic that returns to prominence every 20 years or so. The dish was invented by Italian migrants (Alex and Caesar Cardini) in Tijuana, Mexico as a tableside preparation in the early 1920s and came to fame in the late-20s and early 30s in Los Angeles amongst the Hollywood elite. It eventually became a mainstay of 1950s dinner parties, popping back up in the 70s/80s and enjoying an early aughts recalibration (remember the Spicy Caesar!?).

Well, it’s been about another 20 years and it’s high time the Caesar salad made one more roaring comeback.

As with any “famous” dish, there are a lot of variations and a lot of disappointing ones, at that. The thing is, the Caesar salad isn’t exactly simple. It’s not hard, but it does take a little doing. The dressing is an emulsification of egg yolk, lemon, mustard, anchovy, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and Worcestershire, plus a little salt and pepper.

That leaves a lot of space for a lot of corners to be cut. I’ve seen people use Salad Creme with parmesan in it and call it “Caesar Salad Dressing.” Seriously, people really take liberties with this one.

Also, you have to have a little skill in whisking the egg and oil — similar to making your own mayonnaise. But that’s what is kind of great about learning this recipe. If you can master this, then mastering your own aioli or mayo is the next step in your skillset. We’re also going to make some nice croutons today, another easy skill we all should have.

Classic Caeser Salad

Ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 anchovy filets (jarred in oil)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Juice from one lemon
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 tsp. sharp mustard (Dijon, etc.)
• 4 dashes of fish sauce
• 4 tbsp. grated parmesan + more for garnish
• White pepper
• Sea salt

I can’t over-emphasize: If you buy shit ingredients, your food will taste shitty. Buy good eggs, quality anchovy filets, nice olive oil for eating not cooking, a serious wedge of parm, and so forth. The better your base ingredients, the better your end product.

For the croutons:

• Day-old baguette
• Two garlic cloves
• Handful fresh parsley
• Handful fresh basil
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• Sea salt

What You’ll Need:

• Large salad mixing bowl
• Small mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Cutting board
• Kitchen knife
• Garlic crusher
• Measuring cup with a spout
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper

Method:

For the croutons:

• Pre-heat an oven to 350F/175C.
• Crush the garlic.
• Finely chop the parsley and basil.
• Cut about 1/2 of a day-old baguette into one-inch cubes.
• Add the bread cubes, herbs, oil, and garlic to a large mixing bowl.
• Toss to coat all the bread cubes.
• Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Liberally sprinkle with sea salt. (I also like to hit the bread cubes with another drizzle of olive oil).
• Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until toasted and dry, making sure to flip after ten minutes for an even toast.
• Remove from the oven and set aside to cool on the baking sheet.

Quick tip: Use your senses. You’ll smell when the croutons are ready. Your kitchen should fill the smell of toasty garlic bread.

For the Caesar Salad dressing:

• On a cutting board, mince the anchovy filets until as small as possible.
• Crush the garlic over the anchovies, add a large pinch of salt, and start smashing the garlic and anchovy together with the broadside of the kitchen knife until a paste forms (alternatively use a mortar and pestle).
• Add the egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice to a small mixing bowl. Whisk until fully emulsified and just starting to froth.
• Using a small measuring cup with a spout, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the yolk mix while continuously whisking. Don’t stop whisking until the yolk mixture and oil are fully emulsified creating something similar to a thin mayo.
• Add anchovy/garlic paste, parmesan, a large pinch of white pepper, and fish sauce to the dressing and whisk until fully incorporated.

Put everything together:

• Roughly chop two romaine lettuce heads. Place in a large salad mixing bowl.
• Drizzle the dressing over the lettuce and add a handful of croutons. Toss until everything is fully coated.
• Plate the salad and top with freshly sliced parmesan and more croutons.
• Serve immediately.

Bottom Line:

This makes enough for two, meal-sized Caesar Salads (perfect for two lunches or date night). I actually don’t really care for a protein on my Caesar as it gets to be a bit much. But throw a chicken breast, salmon filet, or grilled prawns on if you want. Still, this is a big enough meal that you really don’t need it.

As for the salad, “bright” is the word that comes to mind. It’s so light, full of serious umami, sharp garlic, tart lemon, and velvet vibes that it’s hard not to love. I demolished this plate. The extra cheese slices (I used leftover pecorino in the end) with the crunch of the croutons are the perfect counterpoint to all that tang, umami, and velvetiness.

If you already have some croutons, this really isn’t that labor-intensive either. It took maybe ten minutes from start to finish to make the actual salad. That’s a very worthwhile ten minutes for something this tasty.

Right now, the biggest names in modern footwear are not the athletes that the sneakers are designed for. Don’t get us wrong, Jordan is still the biggest name in footwear, and considering how fire a fresh pair of Jordans still looks to this day, we don’t imagine another name is going to surpass it anytime soon. But big names are coming close, and none of them are known for their skills on a court — you’ve got people like Kanye West, who has now realized his dream of making a pivot from the hottest rapper in the game to the hottest sneaker and streetwear designer with his Yeezy Brand, Pharrel Williams, who has been toiling away at Adidas for a minute now with his Hu line, J Cole who seems to be constantly pumping out Pumas, and Beyonce who seems to be making tremendous leaps with each drop of her Ivy Park line.

The most exciting sneakers to drop right now are coming from hip-hop and no name is more exciting than La Flame — yes, we’re talking about Mr. Cactus Jack himself, Travis Scott. Together in partnership with Helmut Lang, Nike, and Jordan Brand, Scott has been dropping some of the most hyped sneaker releases of our modern era of streetwear, offering remixed designs of the aforementioned brand’s most popular silhouettes draped in Scott’s signature aesthetic and vibe.

Over the last three years, Scott has dropped 14 sneakers and today we’re here to rank every single one of them from worst to best. Let’s dive in.

14. Travis Scott Jordan XXXIII Army Olive

Amongst fans of Scott’s sneaker collaborations, these are absolutely hated. Some people feel that hate is overkill, arguing that these are slept on but they still deserve their spot at the bottom of this list. It’s not simply that they’re bad — this army olive mesh upper and brown suede heel panel is a pretty solid design for the XXXIIIs — but it’s just so boring in comparison to everything else Scott has done with Nike.

It feels mean to place any Scott shoe dead last, but it’s hard to argue that this is better than any of the other shoes on this list.

Find the Travis Scott Jordan XXXIII Army Olive at GOAT.

13. Travis Scott x Playstation Nike Dunk Low

Originally, we ranked this one last. It’s a the threeway collaboration which coincided with the release of the Playstation 5, whuch just felt like tacky branded overkill. But the more we look at the design, which is actually kind of dope and borrows from the OG Playstation’s look for its colorway, the more it grows on us. We really don’t like the Sony branding on the heel (Playstation logo can stay) but we can’t sit here and pretend that the Jordan XXXIII is somehow better than this sail and light blue upper, with its charcoal grey reverse swoosh and embroidered branding.

Find the Travis Scott x Playstation Nike Dunk Low at StockX.

12. Travis Scott x Helmut Lang Low Top

Before Travis Scott started lending his aesthetic to classic Nike and Jordan silhouettes, he linked up with Italian designer Helmut Lang for a sleek all-black high-top and low-top sneaker. Featuring a nylon upper with leather and velcro straps across the heel and upper, the Travis Scott x Helmut Lang was made in Italy and features graphic bull imagery on the tongue and Helmut Lang branding on the heel tab.

It’s… okay, definitely a step up from the XXXIII and Playstation Dunk.

The Travis Scott x Helmut Lang Low Top is currently unavailable on the aftermarket.

11. Travis Scott Nike Air Max 270 React Cactus Trails

You’ll notice that Scott has a definite preference for Nike’s more retro silhouettes, so the Air Max 270 Cactus Trails is unique in that this is one of the most futuristic-looking Cactus Jack sneakers released yet, thanks to the aerodynamic design of the 270. It’s ironic that it’s also the most aged, with a yellowed midsole and a messy mix of textile, nubuck, and TPU Overlays over a dirty cream colorway.

It really earns its moniker “Cactus Trails,” this is a grimy, dusty mess of a design.

Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Max 270 React Cactus Trails at GOAT.

10. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low White

Travis Scott’s long and fruitful collaboration with Nike begins with this take on the Air Force 1. Released in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the silhouette, this white canvas take on the AF-1 dropped at ComplexCon 2017 and featured interchangeable removable swooshes that were meant to evoke Scott’s trademark grill. The laces have a Cactus Jack logo covering them and the whole thing sits atop a contrasting gum sole.

It looks so different than the designs that would come to define Scott’s work with Nike.

Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low White at StockX.

9. Travis Scott x Helmut Lang High Top

The High Top version of Scott’s Helmut Lang sneaker is a massive improvement over the low. Featuring the same nylon upper with leather paneling and straps, the Helmut Lang high tops are super sleek, militaristic, and represent a Travis Scott era that feels like a distant memory. Not much to say about these that we haven’t said already with the low tops, this is just all-around a better design.

The Travis Scott x Helmut Lang High Top is currently unavailable on the aftermarket.

8. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Jack

The Cactus Jack Air Force 1 has always had a Sean Wotherspoon vibe to us. We know what you’re thinking, “WHY BECAUSE IT HAS CORDUROY” Yup, that’s exactly why. Do you really think this zipped corduroy lace shroud would exist without Wotherspoon’s Air Max 97, which dropped two years earlier? You’re tripping.

The AF1 Cactus Jack features a graphic canvas upper, a brown swoosh on the outer, a black swoosh on the inner, and sits atop a gum outsole. It’s a dope design, but it’s just a little too busy. A comfortable mid-tier release by Scott.

Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Jack at GOAT.

7. Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro Low Mocha

This low-top version of the Jordan I borrows the design of the more iconic high-top version with a mocha and black nubuck leather upper and that polarizing backward swoosh on the lateral side. The backward swoosh actually looks bigger here (it’s not) making the sneaker look unlike a Jordan I, that’s kind of cool. The medial side panel features Cactus Jack lining in university red, making another appearance on the tongue, with the Air Jordan Wings on the heel tab.

Find the Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro Low Mocha at GOAT.

6. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Sail

This Sail colorway of the Air Force 1 was Scott’s second release with Nike and built upon the all-white colorway that preceded it. The canvas upper and removable shiny swoosh is still here, but this Sail colorway just works so much better with the gum outsole and canvas construction. It feels like a true transitional sneaker between Scott’s first Nike drop to the more earthy and worn designs that would come to define the Cactus Jack aesthetic.

Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Sail at GOAT.

5. Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Purple (Friends and Family Release)

We considered not even including this sneaker, as it’s a close friend and family-only release and never had a retail release, but it’s just too clean to ignore. It’s also currently available at StockX, which means someone isn’t being a good friend (we wouldn’t have done you like that, Travis!). This moody Jordan IV features a suede upper in a deep purple with black accents and a grey lace cage.

It’s easily one of the best colorways we’ve ever seen of the Jordan IV period, it’s almost cruel this wasn’t released to the public. Scott has a few more friends and family colorways, but none reach this level of perfection.

Find the Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Purple Suede at StockX.

4. Travis Scott Nike SB Dunk Low Cactus Jack

This is a totally personal take, but this pair brings up a lot of nostalgia for me. The bandana-inspired paisley overlays capture so much of the imagery of growing up in and around East LA. This sneaker looks like my childhood, filtered down into a shoe. The SB Dunk Low Cactus Jack is significant because it’s Scott’s first skate sneaker, utilizing Nike’s ridiculously popular silhouette, dressing it in a tan leather base with plaid quarter panels, paisley overlays, and canvas that tears away to reveal an earthy camo pattern that kind of resembles Nike’s elephant print (but isn’t quite that).

The design is rounded out by thick rope laces, the whole thing really captures Scott’s Cactus Jack aesthetic — muted, yet psychedelic.

Find the Travis Scott Nike SB Dunk Low Premium QS at GOAT.

3. Travis Scott Jordan 6 Retro

Released fairly recently at the end of 2019, the Jordan VI features an almost militaristic olive green nubuck and suede upper with a little stash snap pocket on the outer collar. At the time of release, it felt like this was the perfect music festival sneaker to hide your stash in. Now the idea of going to a concert seems novel. Scott rocked this colorway at the Super Bowl 53 halftime show, leading to its coveted status amongst sneakerheads and Travis Scott fans alike.

The design is rounded out by a glow-in-the-dark translucent outsole with sail and university red accent work. Scott has yet to drop something that tops this design since its debut release.

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2. Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Cactus Jack

There were several times I came close to ranking this as the number one pick, and while ultimately I contend that it’s probably (probably!) not the best Travis Scott sneaker out there, it is my personal favorite. This use of Nike’s university red and blue here is just beautiful, with its blue Durabuck leather upper and a red collar and insole. Inspired by the Houston Oilers, Scott’s hometown team, the Cactus Jack Jordan IV’s are rounded out by a core black lace cage and heel panel with university blue speckles, and feature Cactus Jack and Jumpman branding on the left and right heel respectively.

I’m already regretting not giving it the number one slot.

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1. Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro High Mocha

It feels almost cliche to rank the Mocha Jordan I Retro High as Scott’s best, but this sneaker release has managed to become emblematic of Cactus Jack as a fashion entity now three years after its original release. The large over-sized backward swoosh looks very gimmicky by today’s standards (though we don’t know that it didn’t always) but that mix of mocha suede paneling again a sail leather upper with university red accents is still one of the silhouette’s best colorways.

Since this insanely popular drop, Nike has since borrowed this same exact color scheme for a stock Air Jordan I, which we actually prefer, since it doesn’t have the backward swoosh. But hey, that’s just us.

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