History of The adidas Top Ten & Detroit | Community Shifters

In a sneaker culture driven by the latest Yeezy hype, it is rare to find admiration for other adidas models that don’t follow the current trends. In Detroit, Michigan, the Top Ten from adidas is a sneaker that speaks more to locals than the everyday Air Jordan or Yeezy. As the sneaker just celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, it is evident that the sneaker continues to maintain its staying power, thanks, in part, to Detroit’s sneaker scene. To learn more about why this section of the Midwest claims the adidas shoe, we dive into the history of the Top Ten model.

The Top Ten In The League

In the 1960s and 1970s, the game of basketball was evolving from a low- to high-impact sport. NBA superstars, like Walt Frazier and Bill Russell, were performing powerful moves and dunks more than ever before and their footwear needed to compliment such changes on the court. Witnessing the progression of the sport, adidas was ahead of the pack in delivering suitable basketball products for the new style of play. Each attempt made by the brand would tackle a specific issue that players endured. First came the adidas Superstar Shell Toe in 1969 with its solid rubber toe cap to protect players’ toes from constant impact. Then came the Tournament (currently known as the “Campus”) in 1970, which was equipped with a finer cut sole for better traction on the court. Jump a few years later, and the high-top Nizza model released in 1975 to appeal to players who needed more ankle support. adidas would create these dynamic sneakers, but each only appealed to specific styles of play. Not one model bundled every style into one silhouette. But in 1979, adidas developed the Top Ten to morph them together.

The adidas Top Ten was unlike any other basketball sneaker. First off, unlike most sneakers at the time, adidas sought out the opinion of athletes to develop the Top Ten. Rick Barry, one of the league’s top players, provided input on what basketball players needed from their footwear and helped adidas develop those demands into a shoe. Secondly, the sneaker took into account every style of play imaginable. It was one of the few full-leather high tops in the market, which helped gather the eyes of players that preferred a durable and protective sneaker for high impact plays. It featured adidas’ best outsole yet, designed with deep-herringbone groves and serrated edges to provide grip and flexibility on the hardwood. From point guards to centers, the adidas Top Ten could handle the various styles of play performed by any on-court position. To prove its capabilities, the brand gave the Top Ten to the top ten athletes in the NBA at the time. Players like Billy Knight, Sidney Wicks, and Mitch Kupchak wore the sneakers on the court and showed just how adaptable it was to various styles of play. 

The adidas Top Ten Hits Detroit

Through the successful endorsement of the sneaker and its evolutionary design, the adidas Top Ten was a hit, especially in Detroit. One of the league’s top players was Detroit Piston Bob Lanier. He was an extremely valuable asset to the Piston team, being their first round draft pick back in 1970. Averaging twenty-one points per game and eleven rebounds, Lanier solidified his spot as one of the best players in the league, making him one of the ten recipients of the Top Ten adidas sneaker. As a popular player with huge levels of influence, Lanier displayed his on-court talents while wearing the Top Tens, grabbing the attention of Detroiters and Piston fans to the athlete’s footwear of choice. Once it was known that it was good enough for one of the top players in the league, then Detroiters knew it was good enough for them. 

adidas retailed the Top Ten for $70. This was a high price point in 1979, making it a deterrent for many, but for Detroit’s hustlers and gangsters, it made it more attractive. “The Top Ten was a sign of success back in our day…” said Ty Mopkins in an interview with StockX. Mopkins is a native Detroiter, a prominent figure in the city’s sneaker and streetwear scene, and ambassador for the Midwest sneaker boutique Mr. Alan’s. Continuing to reminisce about the sneaker’s influence, Mopkins proclaims, “If you had some Tens on you were probably in the streets getting money!” From there, the Top Ten adidas transformed from a groundbreaking basketball sneaker, to a highly sought after symbol of status and elite class. 

Mopkins would go on to say that the Top Ten sneaker remains a true Detroit shoe because “it has been passed down from generations.”  The sneaker’s staying power is evident during adidas’ campaign for the silhouette’s 35th anniversary in 2014. Despite one of the city’s top stars, Big Sean, not working on the sneaker while collaborating with adidas back in the early 2010s, other popular figures from the city have continued to pay homage to the Top Ten model. To help announce the sneaker’s revival in original form, rapper and Detroit native Danny Brown, was tapped for the campaign. In an interview with adidas, Brown states “I can’t remember a time in my life where I don’t remember the Top Tens. Everybody had the shoe.” Growing up in Detroit, Danny Brown saw the sneaker throughout his “high school years in 1995”, where people were still rocking the Top Ten model and claiming the sneaker as a Detroit necessity. 

The Top Ten model by adidas still resonates to Detroiters, still remaining relevant despite being forty years old. Detroiters find themselves talking about it even today, continuing to show off their loyalty. On Facebook, groups like adidas Top Ten Community all share their communal thoughts on the sneaker and show-off their latest adidas Top Ten purchases. For the sneaker’s 40th anniversary release, local hip-hop artists were tapped by adidas and Ty Mopkin’s Mr. Alan’s to create a song and music video to commemorate the classic high-top. Entitled Top Ten, rappers and their friends are seen wearing Top Tens in various colorways and also generations, while chanting the song’s chorus line: “Catch me on the Isle in my Top Tens / In the World I be Top Ten / No need for stress cause I’m Top Ten”. Feelings of confidence and self-assurance come through when Detroiters speak about their love for the Top Ten model. That amount of love for a sneaker is rare to find, especially one that has been around for four decades. 

The adidas Top Ten Today

Having a sneaker like the Top Ten withstand a wide variety of playing styles while still delivering groundbreaking results makes it an extremely special product that deserves respect. To this day, Detroiters still show love to the adidas basketball sneaker. Whether it’s sharing communal thoughts on Facebook groups, making rap songs showcasing their affinity for the beloved silhouette, and even singing Happy Birthday to the shoe on its 40th anniversary, Detroit natives make it a known fact that the Top Ten adidas is theirs. Ty Mopkins said it best: “It’s a sole that has touched many souls”.