John Kim 
NIKE BASKETBALL 2000’s WEEK
Debates will be had and arguments will be made, but there is nobody – not even Michael, Dominique, Shawn, or LeBron – that is a better dunker than Vince Carter. The UNC alumni sprung into the NBA highlight reel almost instantly, pulling off inhumane feats of aerial assaults with a rare and cherished combination of finesse and power, throwing down sweet windmills on everyone in his path. VC went from highlight-reel regular to international superstar in a short span of five months, beginning with his Slam Dunk Contest showing in February of 2000 and his leapfrogging over Frederic Weis during the Sydney Olympics later that year. The one major difference between the February and August occasions was what was on Vince’s feet; during the Dunk Contest, VC rocked the AND1 Tai Chi, but by August, he used his airborne abilities to showcase Nike Shox technology and the Nike Shox BB4. It was a match made in heaven; who better than Vince Carter to represent a technology that propelled the athlete off the ground?
Vince Carter’s allegiance to Nike would come at a major, major price; his new contract with the Swoosh rewarded him a cool $30 million, but roughly half of that amount went to Puma to pay off a ‘breach of contract’ fee of sorts. It was a price Vince was willing to pay as the path down Nike would certainly lead to greener pastures, as the Nike Shox VC line would debut not even two years later (Christmas 2001, to be exact). Nike introduced the Shox VC with the ‘Dr. Funk’ campaign – a fictional story dating back to 1975 where a ‘new school cat’ with a strange pair of vinyl and zippered shoes would dominate the old school ballers with ease. The Shox line would go one for five more signature models, and although Vince no longer has a signature shoe to call his own, he still rocks Nike Shox footwear on the court (but you can catch him in the Hyperposite this season). More of this classic era of Nike Basketball below, and you can bet we’ll revisit another Shox model during this week’s Classics Revisited!
Nike Shox VC
Metallic Silver/Black-Varsity Royal
302277-001
Black/Varsity Red-Metallic-Silver
302277-061
Varsity Red/Black-Metallic Silver
302277-601
Midnight Navy/Metallic Gold
302277-471
2002
Photos: la-elderson / henryharriskitty / jportz18
