Wallpaper hi<\/a>\nTo label Scottie Pippen<\/strong> a secondary\u00a0star would be a mistake. To put his sneaker game in the same stature would also be a slight. Over the course of his career, the Silent Assassin<\/em> would prove the most war-ready of any of the Bulls MJ ran with, coming through in the clutch on both sides of the ball. Eight NBA All-Defensive First Team nods, seven NBA All-Star selections, six rings and two gold medals have Pip’s resume residing in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Sure, Pip didn’t win any rings without MJ. No, MJ didn’t win any without Pip. Their two names and games are forever inseparable, but Nike knew they had two very separate stories to tell and sell in the Windy City.<\/p>\nAfter arriving on the scene in Avia, the Swoosh would soon scoop up Scottie and make him the face of the Flight Camp<\/em>. As his star and stature would grow, Pip would be picked to spearhead the Nike Air Uptempo campaign. Over the course of his first nine seasons, #33 would make the likes of the Nike Air Up ’94<\/strong>, Nike Air Maestro II<\/strong>, Nike Air Max Uptempo<\/strong> and Nike Air More Uptempo<\/strong> his own and affectionately dubbed “The Pippens” by fans. It wasn’t until 1997 that Nike would give him a sneaker of his own namesake. The Nike Air Pippen<\/strong> series would span five models, with a sixth one on the way, pushing the star power of the swingman over the label of simply a wingman. Sleek, smooth and understated, the line would represent Pip’s persona and game in the likes of nubuck, tumbled leather and Morph Skin.<\/p>\nJust as Pippen would be known for supporting Mike on the court, he would support his sneaker line just the same, lacing the likes of the Air Jordan 10<\/strong> and Air Jordan 12<\/strong> on notable occasions. Still, it was his own game and ability to propel Nike Basketball’s best designs to the forefront that make Pip a Kicks On Court<\/em>\u00a0legend. From the unbranded Nike Air Flight Huarache to the over-branded Nike Air More Uptempo, it didn’t matter how left or loud the sneaker was – if Pip wore it, it mattered.<\/p>\n-Ian Stonebrook<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
17. Tracy McGrady<\/h2>\n photo by Fernando Medina\/Getty Images\/NBA via DVDprime\n A swan story of sorts, Tracy McGrady<\/strong> went from relatively unknown to a straight-to-the-pros phenom after a breakout performance at adidas ABCD Camp. His adidas arrival birthed the start of a beautiful friendship, as the Three Stripes would sign the Raptors rookie and eventually outfit him over the course of his career.<\/p>\nComing into his own in the likes of various adidas EQT sneakers, young Tracy went from being ‘Vince Carter’s little cousin’ to being ‘T-Mac’ in the adidas Mad Handle<\/strong>. The silky-smooth scorer \u00a0then became a spotlight star and starred in commercials for adidas all while becoming their\u00a0official brand spokesperson. Where would he be without Handles? He was the focal point of the brand’s basketball efforts for years to come. With Kobe departure to Nike, the adidas T-Mac line would come into its own, eventually becoming the longest lasting signature shoe series in adidas Basketball history. Early models like the adidas T-Mac<\/strong>, adidas T-Mac 2<\/strong> and adidas T-Mac 3<\/strong> would be tied to scoring title seasons, All-Star Game memories and summer camp sightings. Tracy was Penny and MJ for kids that were too young to really root for the latter two, and for a short period of time his shoes carried similar weight.<\/p>\nRecently retired, retro T-Macs reside in the same purgatory period that early Air Jordan and Air Penny bring-backs saw. Slow sales may be the case now, but as time passes so does nostalgia build. Retro hardwood endorsement doesn’t hurt either; just ask MJ and Anfernee whose shoes are even more seen in today’s Kicks On Court<\/em> landscape than during their playing heyday. As adidas continues to build its basketball roster with young talent like Andrew Wiggins and countless lottery lands, we could potentially see promising young talent push T-Macs in coming years. After all, for Tracy McGrady and adidas, it was about timing all along.<\/p>\n-Ian Stonebrook<\/em> \n<\/p>\n16. Magic Johnson\/Larry Bird<\/h2>\n photo by Andrew D. Bernstein\/Getty Images\/NBA via 47 Brand\n Nobody’s lining up for a Converse Magic retro, and you can rest assure no one’s camping out for Larry Bird’s star stamped signature shoe. Still, Earvin from East Lansing and the “Hick from French Lick” carried Converse<\/strong> for an entire era on the strength of the Pro Leather<\/strong> and the Weapon<\/strong>.<\/p>\nOver the course of the ’80s, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would battle for NBA championships and in turn split individual accolades while leading the two most famous franchises of their generation. Polar opposites in the personality department, their juxtaposition of Hollywood charm and country grit made for the decade’s greatest rivalry and a historic sneaker campaign. Their team color Converse sneakers appropriately tied more to team greatness than spotlight stardom, which ultimately was what the two competitors were all about anyway.<\/p>\n
While the two talents would serve as the gatekeepers for Michael Jordan’s greatness, Air Jordan would eventually breakthrough the old guard in every way imaginable. MJ would usher in a new wave of athleticism to the game along with the concept of the star-driven signature shoe that would make most other models obsolete in the ’90s. Though their Chevron branded sneakers don’t translate so well to the name-noted, candy colored kicks that rule today’s game, they were the gold standard for quality in the ’80s. Larry and Magic took Converse from canvas to the leather, bridging the gap between Chuck Taylor and REACT Juice in the decade that saved basketball.<\/p>\n
-Ian Stonebrook<\/em><\/p>\nTune in tomorrow as we unveil #KOC25 players #15-#11. Click here\u00a0for a recap of players 25-21 and voice your opinion on the list by using the hashtag #KOC25 on social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yesterday, we kicked off our #KOC25 countdown of The Most Important Sneaker Stars in NBA History with players #25-#21. Rasheed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4667,"featured_media":410705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[835,1219126],"tags":[],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
#KOC25: The Most Important Sneaker Stars in NBA History (20-16) | Snkrs Day<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n