As the year comes to a close, lifestyle publications are starting to compile their “best of the year” lists, complying the most critically praised and commercially loved products of any category. These lists are popular and controversial, invariably praising some that didn’t deserve it, and missing others that did; and that’s true whether they’re ranking films, albums, television shows, or fashion brands. But no lists get more heated than “best sneaker” lists.

The problem is that these lists are inherently more subjective than other kinds. With “best film” lists, you can create an average between your personal taste, the critical consensus, and the commercial result to produce a fairly objective result. With sneakers, you’re balancing hype, originality, story-telling, design, and popularity within sneaker culture; all subjective measures which persons will fight over.

Were the J Balvin Jordan 3s more hyped than the Futura Dunks? Did they have a better story behind them? Did they look cooler? That’s all subjective and the answer to each will depend on who’s talking. For what it’s worth, I far prefer the Futura Dunks, which I’ve written about here.

Because of this, when I write a sneaker of the year list — as I did last year, and will again this year — my choices are down to what I like, but also factoring in wearability and quality. I like recommending shoes that have a cool story behind them, and cultural resonance; but I also just like recommending a great pair of shoes, which look solid, and are made well.

And with that in mind, it’s not surprising that the Jordan 1 Low, in the Howard University colorway, are not just on my top ten sneakers of the year list, but are my favorite Jordan release this year.

The origin story of these is quite simple. Namely, in 2023, Nike gave the Howard University team exclusive “player exclusive” pairs of Jordan 1 Lows; and though these were never going to go on sale, were just made for the players, and were of a silhouette that were decreasing in popularity, these got quite a lot of attention. The red, cream, and navy colorway was beautiful and the quality looked incredible too, with many sneaker enthusiasts — myself included — wishing they could buy a pair.

Nike didn’t quite follow through — after all, they need to keep this colorway special for the players — but this pair, dropped in October, were a lot more than the average Jordan 1 Low release. Made out of a higher quality tumbled leather, with wax laces, and a classic “Black Toe” color blocking, they weren’t even an official “Howard” collaboration, but felt special. They’re well made in a way that few modern Jordan releases have been, and the navy, cream, and rich-red color combination is a classic varsity look, easy to wear with almost any outfit.

As I say, there’s no special story behind them, or cool artistic collaboration; but they’re a great looking pair of a classic sneaker, well made, at reasonable prices. And that sounds pretty good to me.