The sneaker year is coming to a close.
Advertised as one of the craziest sneaker years in a long time, 2025 delivered some truly great sneaker releases. From cult classics returning to new faces entering the sneaker space, there were plenty of great sneakers in the market in 2025.
Introduced last year, the SoleSavy Staff SOTY Draft became our way of choosing the best and most memorable sneakers to release in 2025. The draft, featuring DP, Kendell, Lawrence, and Jose, followed a snake draft format that is traditional to Fantasy Football. For a total of 5 rounds, the SoleSavy team made up their team of sneaker releases from 2025.
The results can be found below:
The first round saw some of Nike and Jordan Brand’s biggest releases of the year. From .SWOOSH’s epic collaboration with Yu-Gi-Oh! to the return of the almost mythical UNDFTD Air Jordan 4, the heaviest of hitters were selected in the first round.
Lawrence, who has the first overall pick, chose the Air Jordan 1 High 85′ ‘Bred’. The ever-iconic Air Jordan 1 colorway finally made a return, with the cherry on top being the 85′ cut that has led to some of the most authentic reimaginations.
“The rollout for these was one of the best we’ve seen in a long time, and it set the tone for the entire year. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the “Bred” Air Jordan 1, and the execution on this pair was perfect,” shared Lawrence when explaining why he took that sneaker first overall.
The second round saw DP take the ‘Aged Well’ 992 with the first pick of the round. This marked the first New Balance sneaker to make an appearance in the draft. Joe Freshgood’s revisit on the 992 delivered an instant classic, all the while respecting the legacy of the sneaker that blossomed the fruitful partnership.
Lawrence wrapped up the round with the ‘Bubble Gum’ Awake Air Jordan 5. The sneaker, naturally, was a highlight of our other End of Year list, which featured the biggest names in sneakers.
The middle was filled with Air Max 95s. The sneaker, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, saw plenty of tasteful collaborations throughout 2025.
“Nike SB was in their bag with this pair. Retooling with upgraded materials and shape for extra comfort was an automatic win. A great colourway that helped make these an everyday wear and probably my most-worn pair of the year. On top of that, these were widely available, and everyone who wanted a pair was able to get them for retail or less,” explained Kendell when discussing his second round pick of the ‘Cactus Flower’ 95.
The third round began like the second round- with a New Balance collaborative sneaker.
“One downside of pre-orders is that we don’t get the electricity and hype that comes with a set release date, and I think the excitement for this shoe would have been through the roof if they had released first-come-first-served. Even though the nearly-ten-month was unbearable, I’d do it again for this shoe – they are outstanding in hand,” explained Lawrence when discussing his pick of the ALD x 993.
In the third round, DP and Kendell selected two of the most revered sneakers ever. A sign of just how stacked 2025 was came to life when you consider the ‘White Cement’ Four and the ‘Galaxy’ Foamposite were taken in the third round.
ASICS made their first appearance in the draft with Jose’s selection of Vandy the Pink’s first collaboration with ASICS.
“2025 really felt like Vandy’s coming-out party. This collaboration not only grew his stock significantly, but it also held ASICS down to start the year. And all of that is before you even get into how well Vandy’s design language translated onto the Gel Nimbus 10.1,” Jose said as he advocated for his third round pick.
The fourth round is where things got a little interesting.
DP began the round showing love to KITH and the ‘Osaka’ 992. KITH would, unsurprisingly, make another appearance in the fourth round with Lawrence’s pick.
“Probably a controversial selection because they were only released publicly in kids sizes, but if they were a men’s shoe, they’d undoubtedly make my list, so why shouldn’t they be there as a kids shoe? It’s not “the best shoes that can fit on my foot of the year” – it’s just “best shoes of the year,” said Lawrence when discussing his pick of the KITH x Nike Footscape.
The other brand to dominate the fourth round was, in fact, JJJJound. Jose would pick the surprisingly polarizing XT-6 colorway. Meanwhile, Kendell kept it classic with the JJJJound 993.
“The classic JJJJound mushroom colourway on arguably one of the best New Balance 99X silhouettes is a no-brainer. 2025 was another big year for New Balance, and JJJJound came out on top again with one of the best pairs of the year,” explained Kendell.
Much like the first round, the final round saw a return to the Nike/Jordan Brand umbrella.
Jose would go on to pick his third Air Max 95 of the draft to the surprise and confusion of everyone else participating. DP’s final selection was the ‘Shattered Backboard’ Air Jordan 1.
Meanwhile, both Lawrence and Kendell ended their drafts with some of the strongest collaborations from Jordan Brand in 2025.
“The shoe is good, the rollout was fun, and while the pandemonium and internet hype feel incredibly overdone, they are still very solid. They probably wouldn’t make my personal top 10 list – but I think they fit in very fairly in the fifth round, and as the 17th overall pick,” Lawrence explained.
“It’s tough to follow up the first two Union x AJ1s, but I feel this pair completes the trio perfectly. Premium materials and the fact that you could get these well after release are what really did it for me. Another hit from Union and Jordan Brand,” revealed Kendell.
Who do you think made the best picks in the 2025 SoleSavy Staff ‘SOTY’ Draft?
You can weigh in here.
