Arvin Arrozal
Twitter: @arbeeezy
Instagram: @beeezyfresh
With the NBA All-Star festivities heading to what many call the “Mecca of Basketball” (New York City) this weekend, all eyes will be on the NBA’s superstars and rising stars as they compete in the game itself or one of the other competitions surrounding the weekend. For sneakerheads and sneaker aficionados alike, this weekend also means another thing: All-Star Edition sneakers. While special All-Star Edition sneakers weren’t always a part of the festivities, it’s hard to deny that many sneaker lovers attribute their fondest memories of the weekend with the what was on feet. From Michael Jordan dunking from the free throw line in the Slam Dunk Contest in 1988 in the Air Jordan III to Tracy McGrady’s alley-op off the backboard to himself in the All-Star Game of 2002 in the Adidas T-Mac 1, the sneakers are remembered just about as much as the player wearing them.
For myself, when I think of NBA All-Star sneaker memories, I would have to go back to 1991. Dee Brown pumping up his Reebok Omni Pumps before battling it out with Shawn Kemp in the Slam Dunk Contest. I was living overseas so I didn’t know much about the Reebok pump then or how it worked. Seeing him pumping up his sneakers before dunking made me literally think it helped him jump higher. I knew I had to have a pair. It did help that Brown and Kemp had a pretty epic battle in that Slam Dunk Contest. Oh yeah, and that “No Look Dunk”. Although I was rooting for Kemp to win, all I could think of was, “I want a pair of those Reebok Pumps”. I can’t remember how long it took, but I eventually convinced my parents to buy me a pair and I was soon outside pumping up my pair trying to do my best imitation of the “No Look Dunk” on my lowered basketball rim. Good times.
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