Nike "Confetti" Court Force

On my feet above is one of my favorite pair of Nike's, the Court Force High. I affectionately refer to these as the confetti edition, because of the colorful bottom. Each shoe is one of a kind, because each pattern is unique on the bottom. The Nike Court Force was released in 1987, and became known as the cousin to the ever popular Nike Air Force One. Originally released as a basketball show, recently re-releases of the product have come in various colorful styles (see the Marvel Comics post below).

This custom fit polo by Ralph Lauren goes well with the confetti Court Forces. The summer of 2005 was when I really got into Polo, and I haven't slowed much since. Thanks to the shirt Bobby Valentino sports in his Tell Me video, my friends and I soon went on an obsessive quest to find a multicolored striped Polo, which we dubbed the "Bobby V" look. I found it in this uniquely colored Polo, one of my favorite shirts.

Point G.O.D

Few people can be instantly recognized by one name. Jordan. Shrek. Obama. Tiger (insert inappropriate joke). Kanye. Jesus. MAGIC. Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr., the greatest point guard ever, whose career ended abruptly during November of the 1991-92 season with the announcement that he had contracted H.I.V, right after losing to Michael Jordan in his first ever appearance in the finals. Though he would return to play in both the All Star game that year (winning MVP with a legendary performance) and on the inaugural Olympic Dream Team, his best days were behind him as a player. He would return again in 1994-95, at the age of 36 to play power forward, and averaged 14.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game in the last 32 games of the season.

This shirt was created in the mid 90's by Nutmeg, a sports apparel company. It features a big portrait of Magic on the front, with a Los Angeles Lakers graphic running down the side. This company made many shirts for famous players of the time period, and they are all classic. Check out the Michael Jordan shirt here.

What makes this shirt dope is the layout. It is set up like a sports card, with graphics on the front, and graphics, biographical information and statistics on the back. You can use this to prove that Magic is better than Chris Paul to the ignorant by simply turning your back to them. For some of Magic's amazing highlights, click here.

Darker cargo shorts complete the look. Yes, I know, I know, cargo shorts are so 2000, but I have slowly grown away from jean shorts. I also love buying cargo shorts, because they always come with that free belt attached. A Lakers snapback hat completes the old school look.



The Nike Big is a classic shoe released during the beginning of the 1985-86 NBA season, the same year that the dunks premiered. Though they are very similar to the Nike dunk, they were designed a bit more aggressively. The big NIKE print on the back is what really does it for me with these shoes. They were endoresed by the 7'7 rookie from Sudan, Manute Bol, who was the tallest player in NBA history until Gheorghe Muresan was drafted in 1993 (and dunked on repeatedly by a young Shaq). The Nike BIG had found its perfect endorser, and Manute Bol went on to lead the league with the most blocks by a rookie, swatting an amazing 397 shots! With all those block attempts, he sometimes found himself on the wrong side of a poster (click here to see the 5'7 Spudd Webb dunk all over him).

Marvel Comics

I put together this fit during a summer trip to New York during the summer of '08. My family and I toured both New Jersey and New York, stopping for an experience at the old Yankee Stadium before it was demolished. We made our way through Harlem, where we found a strip of stores and I ended up blowing some money I didn't have due to my unpaid internship at the time. Luckily, I found this gem in the form of a cool t-shirt filled with Marvel Comics characters for $15. I grew up obsessed with the X-Men cartoon like many kids, and other comic book heroes as well.

The shirt features a compilation of characters, from Dr. Doom, to members of the Fantastic Four, to the Hulk, as well as X-Men characters. The mixture of the characters gives the shirt a very vibrant look, which is perfect in the hot summer weather. I always enjoy buying clothes from hole in the wall spots in other cities, and I am thankful I was able to find this shirt and matching Nike Court Forces in the same store.

These Court Forces caught my attention immediately due to the patent leather Nike check and the kente-inspired color pattern. The tan bottom is also a nice addition to the shoe. The kente inspired pattern gives the shoe a very In Living Color/Fresh Prince of Bel-air look. I often reminisce on the early 90s and what better way to do it then by dressing in clothes with themes and characters from my childhood.