Nike Air Foamposite One: Sneaker Release Date, Price, Where To Buy

Nike dips back into the sneaker line of the great Penny Hardaway this week as it will drop a heretofore unreleased “Home” PE colorway of the fame Air Foamposite One on April 7 for a retail price of $240.

The Air Foamposite One is one of the most notable sneakers of the 1990s — quite a statement in of itself. From college to the pros, these shoes were designed to turn heads and boy did they succeed. These are arguably the most popular model out of all Penny Hardaway’s notable signature sneakers, although it should be noted that these weren’t originally intended for Penny. As told in a recent edition of Complex’s Sneaker Shopping, famed designer Eric Avar met with Penny carrying with him a bag full of prototypes. The story goes that Penny saw the shoes and grabbed them for himself (the rumor is that the shoe was originally intended for Scottie Pippen).

Now it should be noted that although he called dibs on the shoe, Penny actually didn’t debut them. The University of Arizona Wildcats actually debuted them in the NCAA tournament in 1997, with Mike Bibby especially turning heads with them. Penny would get his chance to debut them a month later, but in a bit of history repeating the NBA took umbridge and threatened to fine Penny for wearing them because they didn’t have enough black in them. So a solution was devised: Penny used a sharpie to add black to the shoe so he could keep wearing them without issue. Nike even turned this into an official release in 2015. The Air Foamposite One could not be stopped.

One of the reasons the shoe became so notable is the futuristic look it sported. The upper is made of a polyurethane shell and the midsole, outsole and upper are all one piece. The shoe also featured a carbon fiber plate and icy outsole, plus most notably a dearth of Nike branding. In fact, the only Swoosh visible is on the forefoot of the lateral side. The rest of the shoe is branded with Penny’s famed 1Cent logo, further cementing it as part of Penny’s legacy despite not originally being intended for him. Interestingly, despite it’s out there styling, Nike went with a more subdued advertising campaign for the shoe.

For Friday’s drop, Nike is taking it back to 1997 and giving us a PE that was only available to Penny at the time. Penny needed a colorway to go with the Magic’s beautiful white pinstriped home jerseys (truly the epitome of 1990s greatness). Of the makeup, Nike notes on SNKRS that, “This rare hoops classic pays tribute to Penny Hardaway’s unforgettable game—and one of the first-ever player exclusives. The striking White and Black colorway nods to Penny’s home team, and the streamlined upper’s iconic liquid look adds old-school style to your off-court flair.” This is perhaps slightly less out there than the OG Royal colorway which is more famous, but it has a story of its own and the original rareness of the colorway should have fans salivating.

Of course, the Foamposite One has gone through ups and downs over the year. The shoe proved to be very popular in the 2010s, although they cooled a bit when Nike arguably overdid it on colorways and made them too available. One of the most famous releases of the decade was the “Galaxy” Foamposite Ones. Well-known for the frenzy they created upon release, this shoe currently has an average price of $1,482 on StockX, which represents a 480% price premium. Another notable release was a collab with Supreme in 2014, which currently has an average sale price of $1,020 on StockX, which represents a 263% price premium.

I doubt this home colorway will hit those heights on the resale market, but I do believe that they should be very popular despite the elevated retail price. Best of luck to all who are going for a pair!

To see more of this month’s releases, check out our release date calendar.