words & images // Zack Schlemmer
Up first in this week's Kicks on Cards collection is Ken Griffey Jr. in by far the most popular baseball turf trainer of all time, the Nike Air Griffey Max 1. 1995 and 1996 were arguably the greatest years ever for Nike footwear, and the Nike Training department was no exception. Griffey's first signature shoe featured Air Max in the heel and forefoot, making it the most cushioned training sneaker at its time. Here we see "The Kid" complete with his backwards hat in the iconic Emerald colorway which, to the delight of many, retroed last year and sold out quickly.
the iconic Emerald colorway, which to the delight of many, retroed last year and sold out quickly.
The NBA Finals will be upon us soon and on the next card we see a scene from the 1996 Finals with Scottie Pippen in the Nike Air More Uptempo. We are probably all familiar with the boldly designed More Uptempo, with its giant "AIR" on the side of each shoe and full length Air Max sole. Much like the Griffey Max from around the same time, it's always popular and sells out everytime it is re-released. Here we see Scottie boxing out Detlef in the More Uptempo's standard black and white colorway which he wore throughout the '96 Finals. (Also look closely at the Sonics bench for a player wearing the Reebok Blast.)
For our third card, we get two-for-one with Karl Malone in a pair of his Jazz colored LA Gear sneakers and Kevin McHale in a pair of Celtics-black Converse. Should the Celtics bring back the black shoes like their great teams of the 80's?
To finish up the collection this week we have a pair of New Jersey Nets players in two classic Nike basketball shoes. First is Mookie Blaylock in the Air Force V, and then Chris Childs in the Zoom '95.
What's your pick this week? Drop a comment below!
Ken Griffey Jr. -- Nike Air Griffey Max
Scottie Pippen -- Nike Air Much More Uptempo
Karl Malone -- LA Gear, Kevin McHale -- Converse
Mookie Blaylock -- Nike Air Force V
Chris Childs -- Nike Zoom Flight 95
Always liked that shoe but ended up with the Uptempo IIIs the year after...never got my mitts on those. Oly Retros are comin home tho! 
