In 2001, Nike released what is probably their best commercial ever-and it didn't have Michael Jordan.
That's saying a lot, since Nike has been known to have the best, innovative commercials in sports or any other field.
In the 2001 All-Star break, Nike dropped what is still known as their greatest commercial, "Freestyle." It was directed by music video director Paul Hunter and it became so popular, the Wayans brother spoofed it in "Scary Movie 2."
Not just the visuals, but also, the cast had the rising stars of the NBA back then. Vince Carter, fresh from his unforgettable Slam Dunk performance for the previous All-Star break, led the group of NBA players.
Lamar Odom, a rookie back then, along with Darius Miles were both considered the next prototype of NBA players-tall, athletic and versatile. Odom was the only one who had a stellar career and win two NBA championships with the LA Lakers, though.
Other notable NBA players were Jason "White Chocolate" Williams-you can't have "Freestyle basketball" without him, Baron Davis and Rasheed Wallace who already embraced his "bad boy" image in this ad.
There are also streetballers and freestyle artists in this video which successfully meshed hoops with hip-hop culture. Director Paul Hunter talked with Vice Sports sharing some memorable tidbits about the NBA players he worked with.
"Some of these guys had been trained to act a certain way, others were shy, what made it interesting was finding the personality of these guys," Hunter revealed. "I thought Lamar Odom was one of the best things about the commercial, because he just kind of let himself go. He heard the Planet Rock song, and him and Darius Miles were just having fun, being silly because they were boys. We never knew that was going to come out. Then you had someone like Baron Davis, who was from Los Angeles, doing his crip walk."
About Vince Carter: "Yeah, he was super popular, but he was a little shy. He had his kind of charm, and did this little thing where he's holding the ball and dancing."
About Jason Williams: "Jason Williams really surprised me. He had a lot of flavor. He had swag. A lot of swag."
Hunter also confessed that the best feedback he got was from Kobe Bryant, who, at that time, was still with Adidas. Two years later, Bryant transferred to Nike.
"The feedback that meant a lot to me was from Kobe Bryant. That was awesome. He's the man. He's one of my favorite players. He thought the commercial was phenomenal. I think Kobe wishes he was part of the freestyle spot, for sure."
The full version of the commercial, which also included a football segment.
As a bonus, here's the hilarious spoof from "Scary Movie 2"