NBA fans, how about that Game 6 last night?! In addition to reliving it in pics, GIFs, and MEMEs, I think you'll enjoy what's to come in SLAM 170 — the iconic basketball mag's 20th anniversary issue. I gotta show some love to my favorite bball mag (the SLAM-Ups donning my bedroom wall all through high school) for the milestone, and they do it justice with some amazing illustrations for three collectible covers. Yup, it's not just MJ, but a trio of the past two decades' biggest superstars: Kobe Bryant & LeBron James. Peep those covers below, more on SLAM 170 here, and catch the mag on newsstands now.
Lookin' forward to the features on more SLAM Mag staples like KG & Steph and longtime editor Scoop Jackson. Plus they keep it current with breakout Playoff stars like Paul George and our own Jimmy Butler. Needless to say, I'll be checkin' the GWHQ mailbox everyday til this issue arrives at the office.
Common's Instagram tipped me off to a special day in NBA history today: the 15th Anniversary of Michael Jordan's Final Shot as a Chicago Bull. To us Chicagoans, we consider this the final shot of his career (the Wizards years never happened). And for me personally, it's always chilling to relive this moment. I remember as a young'n being glued to the TV just a few feet away as my folks and I watched history. Bob Costas' calls are forever embedded in my mind. Thought I'd share this video on the Blog for many of us out there, not only in Chicago but across the globe, who felt similarly about MJ's shot over Russell. #Classic
In a recent, in-depth interview with Montreality, Bow Wow touched on numerous topics from his upcoming music, meeting the late Chris Kelly, and positive thoughts on success, his hero, and a message to the youth. But what drew my eye to this interview was a great story about an experience with Michael Jordan... (fast forward to 11:30 or read below)
I’m actually real cool with his sons, Marcus and Jeffrey…I would say, we kinda grew up together. Being on tour, every time we came to Chicago, even at the age of like 15, they would come around and we just clicked.
There’d be times I stayed over at the family, ya know, Mr. Jordan’s house…actually a funny story, I actually wore some Iverson’s to their house…and Michael Jordan woke us all up and was like ‘Whose is these?’…and I was like ‘they’re mine’…and I never saw My A.I.’s after that moment. I was in some Jordan’s going down to play some basketball.
Unrelated, but also hilarious: Ken Jeong & Zach Galifianakis do standup... in 1998! Wow. 15 years ago?! This 8-minute clip surfaced today with The Hangover 3 about to hit theatres.
Yesterday, the Jordan Brand shook up the sneaker world with the announcement of the latest in their signature Air Jordan series - the XX8.
How? By releasing a show that's a whopping 8 inches tall - a brand new innovation for the brand that likens the shoe more to a combat boot than a basketball shoe.
The theme of the shoe centers around "stealth" and when zipped up, the all-black exterior is the highest cut of all basketball shoes. However, when unzipped, we see a more traditional basketball shoe and a bright neon tongue.
The shoe will be available in Houston for the All-Star Game on February 15th and nationally on February 16th. Russell Westbrook was the first NBA player to rock the XX8s in a game tonight against the Brooklyn Nets, as you'll notice those photos in the slideshow above (additional photos from Jordan & SI).
At just 13.5 ounces, the XX8 is being promoted as the lightest and most responsive Air Jordan model to date. When Tinker Hatfield, who has led the design of each Jordan Brand signature shoe since 1988, Jordan Brand product developer Josh Heard and their team began designing the Jordan XX8 sneaker about two years ago, they emailed Michael Jordan and asked him what his definition of “stealth” was. Jordan replied with a text message, and perhaps the best Jordan quote of all time:
“Stealth is like a black cat,” Jordan wrote, according to Hatfield. “You never hear it coming, but it’s deadly as hell. It’s an automatic aircraft. You can’t f*** with an automatic aircraft. It’s like my game. When you see it, it’s too f****** late.”
OK, so what do you think? My first impression was wholly negative, but upon closer inspection, I have grown to be lukewarm. And first and foremost, I admire Jordan and Hatfield for executing a whole fresh and new idea while I'm also very much behind the "stealth" theme.
Like it, rate it, drop a comment with your thoughts!
This past Monday at Sunda in downtown Chicago, Scottie Pippen was surprised by none other than his former teammate Michael Jordan for his 47th birthday party, put together by his wife Larsa. Nothing crazy to report, just that it's always great to see MJ and Pip together, post-retirement. Oh, and there's this fun tidbit via The New York Post.
Bulls family, including team president Michael Reinsdorf and his wife, Nancy, NBA power broker William “World Wide Wes” Wesley, Antoine Walker, Ahmad Rashad, and new Bulls recruit and Chicago native Nazr Mohammed gathered to celebrate at the club with Pippen. Sources told us the fun night ended with a dance-off between Jordan and Pippen to the Trey Songz and Fabolous song, “Say Ahh.”
Ok, I'll ask. Why is there not video of the "Say Ahh" dance-off between Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen?! Ugh, I immediately regret declining my invitation. /I didn't really get invited.
TIBS UPDATE: Found a picture of MJ & Pip together that isn't necessarily great. Well, it's just weird. Hah!
Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan, remarkably similar but yet so different. Shown in the video above, the two perform identical plays. Kobe has scored more points and earned more championship positions than Michael when he was the same age. Both have made huge impacts in endorsements from shoes to airlines and time slots TV rating domination. The media looked away when Michael Jordan did less than savory activities after his basketball career, but exploited Kobe when he did the same.
The debate still continues but does our youth today look at Kobe the same way we looked at Michael, a paramountal legend? Will there ever be a "be like Mike Kobe"?
