The AND 1 Tai Chi is One of the Most Underrated Sneakers Ever
The has given us countless highlights over the decades, both above the rim and, of course, below the knees. From Michael Jordan’s jaw-dropping , to Kobe Bryant’s trash-talkin’ All-Star debut – there have been plenty of storied moments that are etched into our memories with specific sneakers on feet.
For future Hall of Famer, , the year 2000 represented one of the most legendary periods in professional basketball history. Just months before bounding over a 7-foot giant at the Sydney Summer Games in a pair of , Carter etched his name into NBA folklore with an iconic Dunk Contest victory. The All-Star Weekend aerial assault announced Carter as arguably the game’s most electrifying talent, but what were those mysterious mid-tops on his feet?
Seemingly overnight, the little known was swept up in Carter’s undeniable clout. The performance basketball market finally had a new contender.
‘I felt like I could jump to the moon!’ Carter famously told USA Today after his famed five-dunk display in Oakland. He forever transformed the way people dunked the basketball that evening, and he also changed the way the market looked at AND 1 footwear. In the months following, images of Carter’s gravity-defying feats were printed on countless newspapers and magazines globally, with those familiar half-and-half red/white Tai Chis front and centre. It was some rampant marketing, and AND 1 didn’t have to pay a cent for it.
To this day, the Tai Chi remains the only AND 1 silhouette alongside the Too Chillin to sell over a million units. In fact, for a brief period, many regarded AND 1 as the second biggest footwear brand in the NBA, with the likes to Kevin Garnett and Latrell Sprewell even lacing them up. When the cameras panned to the bench, and it wasn’t uncommon to see three or four players with them on feet, such was the brand’s influence among the league’s lesser-knowns. People were so crazy about it, AND 1 did over 100 colourations.
Despite Carter’s above-the-rim exploits in the Tai Chi, AND 1 were unable to secure his signature, with the Raptors star joining Team Swoosh on a ginormous deal. In another ironic twist, it was his Olympic dunk in the Nike Shox BB4 that perhaps signalled the slow decline of AND 1 in the NBA. The market soon turned their attention to tech-packed performance ballers, with the Tai Chi’s modest make-up unable to compete. Known for its lacklustre traction and heavyweight full-grain leather construction, it’s probably safe to say the silhouette’s popularity was destined to decline.
These days, the Tai Chi doesn’t garner as much attention as some of the storied Nike and Jordan Brand builds of the early-2000s. Hell, even FILA’s Grant Hill models probably get more attention. But the AND 1 Tai Chi was one of the most recognisable sneakers of its era, and deserves its own place in sneaker folklore.