Nike recently sat down with Scottie Pippen for to recall how good the year 1996 was to him. Some of the key moments was that he played in his sixth All-Star game, won his fourth NBA title and his second Olympic Gold medal – while wearing the Nike Air More Uptempo.
Below are some of the key questions and answers from the interview via Nike News:
Looking back at that ’96 Bulls team, you had the Jordan 11 and the Shake Ndestrukt. What was the reaction to your shoe in the locker room?
I think mine stood out a little more just because of what it said. It was kind of the graffiti basketball shoe — making a statement in real big letters. So it stood on its own.
That year in the playoffs, a bunch of your teammates wore 11s. Were you influenced by them to wear that shoe as well?
Oh no, no. I mean, I did wear Jordans in some games, but I have always tried to focus on my brand or the shoe that I was wearing to make sure I stood by it and believed in it.
How aware were you of the statement your shoes were making?
As a player when you’re going through it, you don’t realize it. And it’s not until it’s over that you realize you were living a dream. It’s kind of a forgotten memory until you start to appreciate it after your career.
Did you wear a fresh pair every game?
Yeah. I did start to change shoes after every game. People would ask for them and charities wanted them. But a lot of times I would have kids on the street ask me for them, either going in the arena or leaving. So I always had a little clique of kids on the west side that I would take care of.
