1996 was an iconic year for Scottie Pippen who had some key moments in his legacy take place. Some of those include him winning his fourth NBA title, playing in his sixth All-Star game and grabbing his second Olympic Gold medal. He did all this while wearing the Nike Air More Uptempo. Nike sat down with Pippen to talk about those moments as well as sneakers.
Below you can read the key parts of the interview, but the entire write can be read at 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.
