It is impossible to normalize these stats. But the fact that Michael Jordan was the "Bill Gates + Steve Jobs combined" of his era is difficult to ignore. You can argue that Kobe is a better player as LBJ in the same era and that Wilt and Russell were comparable, but to argue that anyone in the late 80s-mid 90s era was better than MJ is pure ignorance - and that's an era that included Bird, Magic, Hakeem, Shaq, young Kobe, Barkley, Malone and others. Jordan KILLED the '92 team in practice in a way that LBJ did not during his Olympic days. No one could guard him. Reggie Miller - one of the five best people in the world at his craft - talked about MJ in a reverential tone that was amazing...while they were playing against each other and at their peak! Think about that for a second. That's like Matisse saying that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be half the artist of Picasso. A staggering admission...
And this is coming from a diehard Celtics fan. As Bobby Knight once said, Michael Jordan is better at basketball than anyone doing anything that we will ever see in our lifetime.
In the NBA, we’ve seen a regular occurrence of eye-turning retros worn in-game. In a January loss to the Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors power forward James Johnson brought out a pair of "Varsity Red" Air Jordan XVIIs from 2002. Nick Young, a favorite in the sneakerhead community, showcased the depth of his collection when he played against Detroit this season in a pair of 2001 "Cool Grey" XIs.
Considering there are many more examples, one has to wonder why NBA players opt to play in retros in the first place. Look through enough sneaker forums and you’re sure to find a handful of people who'd rather ball in older kicks than the newer models out there. There’s no doubt that today's basketball sneakers are more comfortable to hoop in, but are NBA players actually rocking them for comfort?
via Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
“No, the retros actually aren’t that comfortable all the time,” says Phoenix Suns small forward P.J. Tucker. Along with being a lockdown defender, Tucker is equally notorious for his footwear on court. The 6’5”, 225 lbs swing man used this season to bring out some of the oldest sneakers around. However, Tucker says the Air Jordan III is pretty comfortable. In fact, he used halftime in a January game against the Cavs to swap out his ‘Doernbecher’IXs for a pair of retro "Cement" IIIs. That being said, Tucker admits retro Jordans are more probably for stunting than anything else. “A lot of the other [retros] aren’t so comfortable, but I’ll wear them anyway.”
It used to be that NikeTalk, the Sole Collector forums and Sneakerplay were where you could find some of the biggest sneaker collections and most exclusive sneakers being displayed on the Internet. In the last couple of years, Instgram has become the easiest way for sneaker collectors to show off their collections. With some collectors uploading multiple photos daily, the popular social media platform has taken on the role of the most popular place for sneakerheads to catalog their collections. That said, although we've gone over the females to follow on Instagram and the realities of sneaker collecting with some of the most active collectors, today we want to shine some light on some serious collectors that might not be as well known to everyone.
He's got a shocking amount of PEs and a bunch of dope Nike Basketball sneakers you probably forgot all about. Who else has WNBA PE's? Exactly. #yourfavoritecollectorsfavoritecollector
Not only is Griffin a serious sneaker collector. His vintage jerseys and Starter jackets could make a grown man cry. Follow but be prepared to be jealous.
Clocking in with nearly 40,000 followers it's not hard to wonder why Kenny G. is so popular on the 'gram. He's another collector with some serious PEs in his collection.
Believe it or not, Chuck Taylor All-Stars or Converse All Stars (also referred to as "Converses", "Chuck Taylors", "Chucks", "Cons", and "All Stars") is the brand name for a pair of casual shoes produced by Converse through its Converse division. Nike has owned the rights to the brand since acquiring its former competitor out of bankruptcy in 2003.
The design of the Chuck Taylor All-Star has remained largely unchanged since its introduction. The shoes consist of a stitched upper portion, a toe cap usually made of white rubber, and a sole that is usually made of brown rubber. Although Chuck Taylors are made of various materials such as leather, the original and most widely known version of the shoe is made from cotton canvas. The innovative detail of the original shoe was the "loose lining" of soft canvas. This was intended to move along with sweaty gym socks and prevent blisters.
Since its debut in 1985, the Nike Air Jordan sneakers have been more than a basketball shoe in the black community. They have become everything from a fashion accessory to a status symbol.
“Jordans came out as a rebel sneaker,” said Jason Johnson, a shoe expert and owner of Bob’s Classic Kicks in downtown Detroit. “They were banned from the NBA because of the color. It came in as a rebel. Over the years, (Jordan) changed the whole game.”
When Nike debuted the red and black Air Jordan shoes during Michael Jordan’s rookie year in 1985, the league fined him $5,000. Nike paid the fines because of all of the exposure Jordan gave the shoes.
“Jordan had that presence with the youth,” Johnson said. “He became a pop icon. Nike saw that in him. He commanded that presence when he came in the room.”
Jordan’s iconic status made the shoes a must-have item, even among a group of kids who never saw him play in his glory days in Chicago: “These kids have seen the Washington Jordan, not the Chicago Jordan,” Johnson said
In the early 1990s, at the height of hip-hop’s Renaissance period, the shoes became synonymous with rap music and hip-hop culture. In many cities — including Detroit, Chicago, and New York — the shoes became popular targets for thieves as people were often mugged, and in some cases killed, over Jordans.
“You saw it on all the Spike Lee movies and the hip-hop culture picked up on it,” said Antonio Jones, a DJ and “sneaker head” from Detroit. “Once they embraced Jordan like that, it was like if you got his sneaker, you were the man.
