Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 at 1:17 pm  |  98 responses

adidas Nations Contest

Dress like you’re one of the best high school players in the WORLD.

Like Russ mentions in his new KICKS post about Derrick Rose and his lack of a signature shoe, adidas is focusing more on team than individual. To that end, much of the teaching at the adidas Nations event DeMarco ably covered for us (“Parts” 1 and 2) is focused on educating players and returning the game to a team-centric sport.

So, with a huge thanks to adidas for providing an amazing bag of gear (really, everything you’d need: shorts, pants, socks, tee-shirt, tank top, etc, all in a sweet duffel bag) and a pair of the official Nations Commander LT shoes you see at right, here’s the question you need to answer to win the prize:nationsshoe

What TEAM from the past was your favorite and why (could be any level of basketball, though we’re guessing NBA teams will be easier to judge)?

Put your answers in the comments section, and please keep them brief (approx 100 words max.) and include your shoe size. SLAM staffers will review the entries and pick a winner this week, so also be sure to log into SLAMonline with a working email address so that when said winner is chosen, they will be reachable.

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  • Pasc

    As a young basketball fan and a huge Cavs fan since Lebron came into town… I have no choice but to pick the 08-09 Cleveland Cavaliers. That team had it all… the passion, the skills, the determination and a true family-like relationship. From the very silly pre-game photo shoots, to the bench players going crazy after a Lebron James dunk, they did everything to capture the city of Cleveland and the entire basketball world’s hearts. How could you not like watching basketball players, playing for millions a year… enjoy the game with a passion that is really, just incredible. The year definatly ended like a bad dream, but looking at the big picture… last season was actually a fantastic dream for a city that is really dying for a championship. With a rebuilt roster and geared for another adventure again this year, I am sure the Cavs are ready, as a team, to finally taste the glory for themsleves.

  • Pasc

    ** size 9 please.. sorry, I forgot to mark it down

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Sorry, forgot to say: size 11.

  • Chuck

    As a 12 year old kid, the first NBA team I cared to like was the 1982-1983 Philadelphia 76ers. When Julius Erving came to Philadelphia prior to the 1976-77 season, an NBA Championship was predicted for the 76ers. While the 76ers did make three trips to the NBA Finals in Dr. J’s first six years with the team, the title continued to elude them.
    After coming close for several seasons with Caldwell Jones and Darryl Dawkins at center, the Philadelphia 76ers decided prior to the 1982-83 season that if they were to go all the way, they had to upgrade their pivot play. So they went after the best: Moses Malone, who had led an otherwise weak Houston team to the NBA Finals in 1981 and was coming off a year in which he had averaged a career-high 31.1 ppg and a league-leading 14.7
    rpg for the Rockets. The 1982-83 76ers are considered one of the best teams in NBA history. Led by Moses Malone and Julius Erving this team could go inside, outside, and could completely shut down opponents on the defensive end. With players such as Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney, and Maurice Cheeks they were a handful for most teams on any given night. This was a team which was exciting to watch every time they stepped on the court. Size 15.

  • Lkav

    my favourite team of all time would have to be my junior team from this year. half are team couldent even dribble. but by the end we started playing as a team. and we went on to win the city championship. I learned what it takes for me to be a team player and the relationships you need to make with your team mates to become a true team. by the way are school only has 250 kids and we play schools with 2000 kids!!!!
    shoe size 10.5

  • http://www.realcavsfans.com Anton

    My favorite team are the 2009 Hyperizers. While other teams use 5 players, the Hyperizers keep it real by using 4, which is really all you need. But greatness does not come without adversity, as this team often gets the criticizin but they just keep on hyperizin. Haters don’t like their style, they say that they too wild, but they just gon do it like every day-ey. Chief Blocka lays down the stuffs and dunks on your muffs, Velvet Hoop always takes opponents on a loop, and Fog Raw almost makes love to the rock..HOT. Add some Ice-O on that hotness and you get the best team havin fun. How much fun? I said hella fun, listen hun, Hyperizers are the heaven, the size of my tires is 11.

  • Knicks

    My favorite team is the ’99 New York Knickerbockers. This team had been to the second round of the Playoffs in 1998. They started the season with a championship attitude. This would not last long as they had a tough shortened regular season. Entering the Playoffs as the 8th seed in the East they faced their main rivals; Alonzo Mourning and the Miami Heat. In every single series they played in ’99 they were the underdogs. But they exceeded any expectation by reaching the NBA Finals. Once there they were no match for the San Antonio Spurs. (lost 4-1)
    This Knicks team showed heart and toughness. They never gave up even though everyone was a doubter. With unbelievable chemistry, teamwork their undefined leader Larry Johnson (and the help of some very clutch shooting by LJ and Allan Houston) took the Knicks back to the NBA Finals.

    They were everything the current Knicks squad doesn’t have, that’s why the ’99 New York Knicks are my favorite team of all time.

  • Knicks

    shoe size is 11.5

  • Marcos Zapater

    Definitely the Lakers team from the 80′s, with Magic running the show. That was the best example of superstars (Magic, Worthy, Kareem) and role players all in synergy, getting the best out of each other, proving that you don’t have to go all iso on every play. That team made basketball what it is today. Size 8,5.

  • Maurice

    ’04 pistons without a doubt!!!! they had so mush heart and soul for the game passion is the main ingredient to win a championship and they had plenty, size 12

  • Maurice

    13

  • Lonnie Long

    My favorite team from the past by a landslide is the 1974-75 Golden State Warriors. Barry, Wilkes, Beard, Charles Johnson,Clifford Ray, swept Washington for the NBA championship,when they were the team that was supposed to get swept. Barry averaged 30 ppg. and the Bay went bannanas. They were underdog-over-achievers with talent(this years squad may have a similar personality). Don nelson(current GSW coach) played against Al Attles(74-75 GSW coach) in the ’64 NBA Finals..Its fate. shoe size 13

    ps and the kicks are GOLDEN..!

  • JAcker

    My favorite team is the 2006-07 Florida Gators, a team that returned all five of its starters to defend its national title. As the NBA-caliber upperclassman moves his way up the extinction list, that squad epitomized what it means to be a team when its stars delayed the individual fame and fortune for another chance to cut down the nets together. Those Gators became the only team to repeat as National Champs with the same starting five.

  • NBB

    My favorite team is the ’04 Pistons. These Pistons exemplified “Team Play” as they had no true ‘star’. They did it the right way, winning with defense and an unselfish form of basketball on the offensive end. Though this team went 54-28 in the regular season (their best record since 1997) they had the heart of champions and proved they could handle controversy as they fought back from a 3-2 series deficit in the second round to beat the NJ Nets. Finally, in the finals, analysts and experts galore gave the Pistons very little chance to defeat the star-studded Lakers team featuring Kobe, Shaq, Gary Payton and Karl Malone. As true underdogs, the Pistons felt they had something to prove and they did that on the floor, winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy in a dominating fashion, winning 3 of their 4 victories by double digits en route to a 4-1 series trounce.

  • NBB

    Sorry i forgot to put this. SHOE SIZE: 13

  • dimitri29

    My favorite team from the past was the bulls when they had mj,pippen,rodman,kerr,etc…. and the greatsest coach of all time phil jackson, when they set the regular season record with wins that was amazing and no other nba team has done that by far. shoe size 12

  • NBB

    shoe size, 13

  • abel

    This one’s easy, and noone seems to have got it yet.
    Who was the greatest player in basketball history? MJ? Magic? LarryLegend? Maybe Robinson, Chuck, Glyde or Mailman?
    How about all of them? In one team?
    Got it, DREAM TEAM, the only dream team ever.
    And not only for individual talent but for the way they harmonized and worked together as a team. For how their opponents lined up for an autograph and a pic after losing to them by 40. This Team in the NBA would’ve won 98 games a season. Not fair? Maybe! Size 9.

  • Ron B

    Wow…My 87-88 L.A Lakers! Come on, Magic at 6’9 running the point (this will never be done again), a young Byron at the 2, smooth Worthy at the 3, honest abe Green at da 4 and none better at the 5….Kareem..now this is a team for the ages!!! size 11 playa!

  • Connor

    The 1996 Chicago Bulls team was the best in rescent memory. They had super stars in Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Also With Phil Jackson as coach they were headed in the right path. This season the bulls beat the Super Sonics in the championship in 6 games. They also broke the record for most wins in a season. I think the Bulls were so good this season because of their preseason acwasition of Dennis Rodman. He could rebound, defend, and braut a new attitude to the bulls. This sesons Bulls were the best because the had an all around game.

  • Owen Huff

    My favorite team was the 09 clippers because they were a perfect example of how talent is worthless if you don’t work together.

  • Connor

    ^
    |
    SHOE SIZE 8 |

  • Connor

    shoe size 8

  • Connor

    The 1996 Chicago Bulls team was the best in rescent memory. They had super stars in Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Also With Phil Jackson as coach they were headed in the right path. This season the bulls beat the Super Sonics in the championship in 6 games. They also broke the record for most wins in a season. I think the Bulls were so good this season because of their preseason acwasition of Dennis Rodman. He could rebound, defend, and braut a new attitude to the bulls. This sesons Bulls were the best because the had an all around game. SHOE SIZE- 8

  • http://ballislife.com Moose

    My favorite team of all time is the 2007-08 Boston Celtics. After two stunning moves that brought in a pair of superstars and countless genius bench additions, the Celtics and the entire city of Boston was pumped for the season. The Celtics delivered, showcasing the most impressive turnaround in NBA history, improving by 42 wins. They muscled through the playoffs, and came out of the Eastern Conference with their confidence intact, though it wasn’t easy. They finished off the Lakers in six exciting games, bring an NBA championship while teaching the world what true togetherness in a sports setting is.

  • Connor

    shoe size, 8

  • http://ballislife.com Moose

    ^^^^^Size 13^^^^^

  • http://ballislife.com Moose

    And 100 words is hard. Had to make it EXACTLY 100 words. Sorry that my shoe size is detached, realized it afterwards.

  • http://aol.com Ben Baran

    My favorite team is the 08-09 Lakers. Lead by kobe, the lakers were able to overcome the hype of Lebron and steal the championship during “Lebron’s Year”. Kobe and the boys in gold and purple proved Mark Jackson and the other doubters wrong. It took them a while to string everything together, but they finally became the ultimate team. every man had a role, with guys like Trever and Shanon coming up big in unlikely moments. Most of all, they bonded off the court, as shown on the Jimmy kimmel show. These guys are real brothers.
    Size:11

  • http://www.slamonline.com Rain-Man

    2001 Sixers. Lead by Allen Iverson who was the best player in the league the Sixers were the ultimate underdogs. Nobody expected them to get to the Finals. But Iverson lead them there by pulling miracles every night. Dropping 40 and 50 in the playoffs. It was amazing. The thing with this team was they understood A.I. was the man and everyone understod their role. Nobody tried to do something they could not. Larry Brown knew how to coach this team. They shocked the world by beating LA in game 1 because of Iverson’s excellence. This team was not a 1-man team everyone did what they had to the best they could. It was so fun watching this team prove the world wrong. They were like the Little Engine That Could. And they ALMOST did.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Rain-Man

    Size 12!.

  • adbphilly

    ’01 76ers. This team wasn’t supposed to beat indiana, toronto, and miluakee, to go the Finals, have the best record in the Eastern Conference, have an MVP, Coach, Defensive and 6th man of the year ALL in the SAME season, weren’t supposed to have a MVP in Allen Iverson, and have supporting players like mckie and snow shut up the doubters who said that they couldn’t win with their “weak lineup”. werent supposed to be the most exciting and underrated teams in NBA history. They werent supposed to do all these things, but guess what? THEY DID.

    size 13

    side note: allen iverson summed the 01 76ers the best screaming into the nbc mic “we’re a team man! For the first time in my life I’m on a team!” Much love to the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers, a true team.

  • adbphilly

    ^^^that side note isn’t included in my entry, sorry i forgot to take that last part out when i was trimming my entry down

  • http://www.redsarmy.com KobeWearsAPurpleThong

    No question, the 2007-08 Boston Celtics. This team went from worst to first because they became a fine-tuned unit. KG, the ultimate team player and leader came in, and with Doc Rivers’ UBUNTU philosophy, this team took a rollercoaster ride to the O’Brien trophy. They were almost eliminated twice in 2 different 7-game series, but they pulled it together to end up routing the Lakers in a Game 6 SMOKING. When the season seemed like it was about to end against the Hawks and Cavs, this group of guys showed the true meaning of team and all contributed to the Celtics’ 17th championship banner…

  • http://yahoo.com Logues

    my favorite team is the 07-08 boston celtics. the nba is not too exciting to watch anymore, but i could watch the c’s play every day. they really demonstrated team play offensively and defensively, and noone was selfish and cared about stats, they just got the job done. they had all the pressure to win a chip, and alot of ppl doubted them the whole year(even you SLAM), even in the finals vs the lakers. i am from minnesota, so i miss kg, but i couldnt have been more excited for him. size 12

  • http://www.slamonline.com Suga Ray

    15 win 95-96 Vancouver Grizzlies(LOL).When I found out we were getting a team I was so excited. We drafted BRYANT REEVES!. Locally he had more hype than LeBron. We started 2-0!and lost the next 19. We SUCKED. But I still loved them. We were the joke of the NBA. My favorite moment was when the Bulls came to town. But Jordan wasn’t giving us what we wanted. The Grizzlies were up the whole game DAMNIT! I was sittin front row with my brother who said to Mike. “I waited my whole life for this, thats all you got?” 10 points with 6 mins left?” Jordan smiles at us and scores 19 points in 6 mins. Single handedly he beat us and we got the dirtiest looks from players,coaches and fans. Security had to take us out of the arena. We sucked and we were a joke but I was always their biggest fan. Since the Grizz left, my life hasn’t been the same. Size 12.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Suga Ray

    Heres the video from that game me and my brother were the reason Mike went nuts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoKuC6zrFVY

  • http://slamonline.com/online/category/blogs/fear/ Freedom Fries

    Mason & Oakley of the NY Knicks – 2 tough MF’s on a tough NY team who I call thugs with all the love and respect a person can have. They could ball AND they could stop you from ballin. They had the strength, conviction and confidence I could only dream of as a young-un. When cats saw them in the lane, they always had to think twice just how much they wanted those 2 points vs. their 2 front teeth. Hearts of champions and unwavering determination. The kind of role models I miss nowadays. 11.5

  • nate

    my favorite team is the 06 miami heat. this was the team that got me into basketball. the team just kept going and going and surprising people under the lead of one of the best players in the game dwyane wade. going down 0-2 in the finals, D-Wade put the team on his back and simply refused to let his team lose, and the heat won the next 4 games. but it wasn’t just him, Shaq and the other players played their hearts out in that finals and that season.

    size 12

  • http://slamonline.com Ben Osborne

    Great entries, everyone. Keep em coming another couple hours and then we’ll be choosing and contacting a winner.

  • Fred Bennett

    My favorite team of all time the 95-96 Chicago Bulls. They exemplify team work to it fullest. True they had “The Greatest Player Ever”,but the whole team was on one accord and knew the task at hand and what it took to accomplish that task.
    shoe size 9

  • http://yahoo.com Logues

    @ Suga Ray’s video: that was nice, and thats exactly why mj’s the greatest ever. that was incredible, even though the grizz did suck horribly bad

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=814908451&ref=nf The Last Kings Fan

    The 2002 Sacramento Kings. Even after you guys crowned the Nets the best TEAM in the NBA, the Kings still had some of the best and probably most creative passing 4/5 combo in the league with Vlade and Webb. Doug Christie would lead Peja on backdoor passes with a one hand bullet. Mike Bibby might have been the worst passer in the starting line up. We didn’t need “ubuntu” when we could pass like that. Size 12

  • Rolle

    My favorite team was the 2000-2002 Sacramento Kings because they played the game how it’s used to: Have fun. They had the most entertaining game in the NBA while they succeeded really well (had the league-best record in 01-02 season). I especially wanna thank jason williams (who was later traded for mike bibby) Mike Bibby and Mr. C-Webb. Shoe size 9 1/2.

  • http://slamonline.com Ben Osborne

    A winner has been chosen. As soon as they get back to us we’ll announce them on here and close the contest. Thanks everyone for playing.

  • jai

    You can’t have a conversation about favorite teams without mentioning the 1991 University of Michigan men’s basketball team, aka the Fab Five. It took long shorts, five Top 100 recruits and some panache to inject some attitude and excitement into the game. Who else could have so drastically transformed the game other than a handful of teenagers?

  • http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

    I think Suga Ray just won this contest. That video was insane. Mikes the greatest ever.

  • http://slamonline.com Ben Osborne

    Huge congrats to our winner, Kevin, who was the first to enter the contest. Kevin, your package will be on the way as soon as we get your shoes. Thanks to all the entrants and, most of all, adidas for making the contest possible.

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