KicksGuide's 2003 Performance Shoe of the Year Award goes to the shoe released in the past year with the best on-court performance. This can be based on any of the following categories: traction & grip, responsiveness, feedback and precision; relative price for performance; ability to cut, jump, stop and overall ability to compete at the highest level; online voting. The recognition is given to the model line as a whole and not any individual colorway.

      As you can see, online voting was a close call with the Nike Air Zoom Ultraflight taking a slight lead. But can the Ultraflight hold on and win? Let's just say the final scores are as close as you can get without being a tie. However, only one winner can walk out on top and before we get to that, here's how the rest of the field fared:

Online votes:

     

Sixth Place - Reebok ATR Vertical

      Some may say that the Reebok ATR Vertical does not belong on this list of high performers. We beg to differ. The Vertical posses the fundamental components needed to perform. This simple and no non-sense approach is a refreshing reminder of the way performance shoes are suppose to be made. Along with its low price tag, the ATR Vertical was one of the best bang for the buck performance shoes in the past year. Unfortunately in the end, even the less-is-more concept can't overcome its shortcomings in several key categories like ankle support and traction.

Fifth Place - Adidas A3 Electrify

      The A³ Electrify was certainly a surprise last year. Despite Tim Duncan's championship run last year, the shoes were released in relative anonymity. The A³ cushioning system was bettered used in the Electrify than any other Adidas basketball release. Perhaps the best praise goes to the fact that the Electrify beat out any Shox based system this year (nearest competitor was Shox Supremacy) in the PSOTY nominations. Yet the shoes are also more expensive than you'd expect. The $130 tag is more expensive than the T-MAC II and makes it extra hard to justify the additional cost over benefit.

4th Place - Adidas T-MAC II

      The adidas T-MAC II is a great all-around shoe. Yet when it comes to total performance, it behaves more on the mild side. The shoes are incredibly comfortable, almost to a fault. The low ankle cut drastically hurt the shoe in the safety department. It is a solid shoe in every category but hardly a true all out performer like most others in this field. To make a long story short, there are 3 shoes that are simply better in terms of high performance.