The weather in Los Angeles could not have been better for the legion of ballers who all laced up their kicks and gutted out a tough two days of 3-on-3 basketball. Any event that warrants street closure along Figueroa Street in Downtown L.A. right by the Staples Center is special to say the least. Nike 3on3 was obviously no exception.
The Nike Vault inside of the Staples Center even took the opportunity to deck out their store in honor of L.A.’s new son of basketball, Blake Griffin, deservedly so. The ‘Blake Pack’ was dropped on Friday with everything from his Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 10.0 PE to a tee to a special Dunk Kit, which is more of a hilarious and clever mock earthquake kit for those who may ever get embarrassed under the hoop. You remember Timofey Mosgov right? If you don’t, just YouTube his name with Blake’s for a refresher.
The highlight of Nike 3on3 though was of course, the game of basketball. While the special dunk contest undoubtedly wowed everyone the most and stole the vast majority of “oohhs” and “aahhs,” to be quite honest, the youth teams were the most impressive. It was actually quite scary to see how good some of these kids were at balling it up and for any casual baller, they would definitely put you in your place.
Whether or not it was due to the fact that the tournament was put together and run by Nike, the sneaker that dominated the courts was undoubtedly the Nike Zoom Kobe VI, which was actually quite surprising because I personally wouldn’t want to wear them outdoors and wear down the outsole from so much asphalt exposure, but that’s just me. The Nike Zoom Hyperfuse was probably the second shoe that I saw the most, which is a bit more practical overall for outdoor play given it’s much more affordable price.
As for the dunk contest participants, the Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 10.0 stole the show, especially for champion Kenny Dobbs, who did his best Blake Griffin impression by jumping over something a bit higher than the Kia Optima in the same All-Star kicks en route to capturing the title. Seeing the level of athleticism that human beings are capable of is just seriously mind-boggling, especially when it comes to ridiculous dunks.
Sit back, relax and enjoy all the photos from a great weekend!
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BlhfS–TC4
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