This month I catch a social media post about an event at Gila River Casino. The post is for “The Collection by Gila River”. The post describes the event as a “sneaker lover’s dream”, so they had my attention. The Collection is described as an event to discover the history and artistry behind each pair from Mike Bibby’s personal collection. The highlights of the event include iconic Jordan Brand collaborations from Bibby’s collection that span decades with rare, limited edition releases and exclusive colorways straight from the vault. So of course I had to check it out.
If you live in Arizona, you know who Mike Bibby is. Bibby might have been born in New Jersey, but here in the Grand Canyon state, he is basketball royalty. Bibby played high school basketball at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix. He would then attend the University of Arizona for two seasons where he led the Wildcats to the 1997 National Championship his freshmen season. Bibby would become the 10th overall pick and play for 14 seasons in the NBA. His NBA career would include a tremendous 7 year run with the Sacramento Kings from 2001-2008 where he would average 18 points per game. After his retirement from the NBA, he would return to Shadow Mountain as the head coach. He led Shadow Mountain to five Arizona state championships — including four in a row — from 2013 to 2019. And just this month, Bibby was announced as the head college basketball coach of the Sacramento State Hornets.
Wild Horse Pass Casino is about an hour from me. The Casino opened in 1995 and the resort hotel would open in 2009. This was my first time walking into this location. After a short walk from the parking garage, I walk into a casino that looks like any you would find on the Vegas strip. The afternoon crowd of gamblers appeared to be a little on the older side than I am, and that might be the reason that I would end up having most of the event all to myself.
As the escalator took me up to the second floor, and the red, white and blue signage of the event greeted me as the Upper Deck Kitchen and Bar came into view. Huge blue, oversized basketballs were on both sides of the entrance and the screens next to the door presented hype beast Nikes in 1080P. As I stepped into the restaurant, the host stand stood between me and six plexiglass boxes each containing a single shoe. The first shoe that caught my eye was the Concepts SB Dunk Low Blue Lobster. Not a shoe you see every day, and my expectations for the event were already exceeded. I asked the woman behind the host stand if I could check out the exhibit without ordering food. She said yes and enthusiastically welcomed me in and pointed out a few places in the exhibit. She didn’t want me to miss the sneaker planters and the lockers full of shoes. She walked me over to point out both of these items and then she invited me to enjoy the exhibit.
Mike Bibby wasn’t the first athlete to sign with Jordan Brand. Carmelo Anthony will always hold that honor. But Bibby was there in the beginning. In the early 2000’s, brands like Puma were pushing bright colored shoes and gear. In an interview on the Knuckleheads podcast, Bibby explained how turned off he was by these bright colors. He explained that in the early days of the Jumpman brand, he could call his rep and easily get player exclusive Jordans and any pair that caught his eye would be delivered to him the next day. And if you’re a fan of low cut Jordans, you can thank Bibby for that. Bibby requested low cut version of Jordans when no one else was. Some of the low cut J’s that he requested were later made available to the public.
After walking past the two NBA JAM cabinet arcade games, you are met by the cornerstone of the exhibit. In the middle of the restaurant, a huge screen is surrounded by LED lit lockers full of hype shoes. The shoes is this section aren’t from Bibby’s collection, but shoes on display from Guest List. Guest List is a sneaker shop in Arizona Mills Mall and in Scottsdale. Guest List recently hosted the Devin Booker sneaker exhibit and they are absolutely crushing the streetwear scene with their own line of incredible apparel. Owner Ryan Gizinski is making big waves in the streetwear space and it is just a matter of time before his name is know across the nation.
Back to the exhibit. At the far end of the restaurant, there is an incredible display of Bibby’s best behind a counter that was used throughout the four days for events such as a Meet and Greet, Shoe Cleaning with Reshoevn8r and a podcast recording featuring none other than Mike Bibby, Eddie House and Ty Ellis among other events. And keep in mind that Mike Bibby is a true sneakerhead. This section had dunks, foams, Jordans, Kobe’s, Brons, and AF1’s.
Across from the counter are the last two rooms of the exhibit. The rooms both have red brick walls with red carpet floors. The two rooms are separated by a small section of hardwood flooring. White neon letters are in both rooms. The shoe shine chair must have been used by the boys from Reshoeven8r during the time they were there. The floor to ceiling screen on the far wall plays clips of Bibby during his time in the NBA and during his time at UofA from a projector above your head. The “Exclusive” room had the same wall sized screen but it was playing a Padres baseball game at the time I was there. The Exclusive room had the star of the show in my eyes with the never released Kobe Protro 4 PE – Devin Booker. It’s not the most expensive shoe in the exhibit. Not even close. But the purple and neon yellow hits make it look like it was made for the Schumacher Batman movie
The final room that I walk into has the shoes I came to see. The pairs in the last room are the reasons I made the drive. Bibby is a size 12.5. All of the shoes in the final room stand out because of the size and the condition. Their condition looks like shoes that you have in the back of your closet. And they all come from an era of Nike basketball that will live in my heart forever. The Mid90s. There are pairs in this room that I remember purchasing for myself. But my 14 lows didn’t have “BIBBY” stitched on the side. These are MB’s shoes. Jordan 9 lows in Kings colors. 14 lows that the public would never get. And the Foamposite 1. The placard next to the Foam explains that Bibby debuted the shoe in the 1997 NCAA Tournament.
This is a moment in sneaker culture that I’ll never forget. Social media wasn’t social media in 1997. Bibby is a freshman at U of A and we didn’t know what he had on. I saw a picture of him wearing it in the newspaper the day after its debut. I’m working at Nike at the time. No one at my store knew what it was. The tech that went into the Foamposite and the cost of development would become sneaker legend. That moment in sneaker culture is a big as any. And it starts with Mike Bibby. Is the shoe in that display case the same one he wore in 1997? I have my OG pair. I bought two pairs the day they dropped. It was the most expensive shoe I had ever purchased at the time. The pair in the case is as weathered as the pair in closet. As I stood in front of it, I had a feeling that an art lover might have in front of a Picasso. It’s strange to have an emotional reaction to a shoe. It may not even be the original. I would bet that it’s not. But If its his game worn pair from the news paper article I saw back in the day, I’m thankful the organizers of the event and Mike Bibby himself gave sneaker heads like me a chance to see it.
Wear your shoes.
