February 27, 2000. Air Canada Centre. Toronto.
NBC had rearranged its national TV schedule specifically to show Vince Carter and the Raptors to American audiences for the first time. The Phoenix Suns were rolling, having won 10 of their last 12 games coming in. 19,800 fans packed the building. And then Vince Carter proceeded to put on one of the most complete individual performances in NBA history.
Carter was perfect from the free throw line, going 13-for-13, hit all four of his three-point attempts, and finished with 51 points on 32 field goal attempts to lead the Raptors to a nail-biting 103-102 win. He became the first Raptor ever to hit the 50-point mark.
But here’s what makes this game even more interesting from a sneaker perspective… he did it wearing a shoe he wasn’t technically supposed to be wearing.
Carter was still under contract with Puma at the time, but refused to wear the brand due to comfort issues. His agent eventually got him out of the deal after the season, but during that 1999-2000 season, Carter had to alternate between sneaker brands every few games. On this particular Sunday afternoon, on national TV, in front of the whole country, he chose the AND1 Tai Chi.
And if that context sounds familiar… it should. Just two weeks earlier, on February 12th in Oakland, Carter rocked the AND1 Tai Chi for all four dunks at the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, widely considered the greatest dunk contest performance of all time. That iconic showcase cemented the AND1 Tai Chi as one of the most storied sneakers of the modern era.
Two weeks. One shoe. The greatest dunk contest of all time… and a career-high 51-point national TV performance. That’s the kind of résumé that makes a sneaker legendary, and the Tai Chi earned every bit of it.
When the Tai Chi originally released in 1999, it retailed for $75. Thinking about the other shoes in that era, Foamposites, Jordans, and the like, the price point and lightweight design made it one of the most competitive shoes on the market. It wasn’t the flashiest shoe. It wasn’t the most hyped. But it was on the right feet at exactly the right moments.
Now, take a look at the photos from that game…
Vince is obviously in the Tai Chi, but look at everyone else on that floor. Every single player in those frames was wearing something worth talking about. This is 2000, peak sneaker chaos in the NBA… Foamposites, Nike Alpha Project shoes, early adidas basketball, AND1 all over the place. It’s a time capsule hiding in plain sight. Half those shoes you’d recognize as Player Exclusives that never saw a retail shelf.
So here’s the challenge for the Sneaker History community… can you identify the other shoes in these photos? Drop your IDs in the comments. The best sneaker detective work gets a shoutout in a future post.
This is exactly why I love old game photos. The story is never just about one shoe. It’s about an entire era, frozen in a single frame.