Rip Hamilton Talks Cool Grey 11s, Stolen Air Jordan PEs, Pistons Basketball, and More

Image via Getty/Rocky Widner

Rip Hamilton has cemented his rightful spot in the annals of Detroit sports history. During his tenure in the Motor City from 2002 to 2011, he was a three-time NBA All-Star who helped the Pistons hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2005 and compete in another Finals the following year. And who could forget his signature face mask that he wore like a piece of battle armor long after a face injury had healed? It wasn’t just the mask though. Rip’s on-court footwear rotation was also always on point, thanks to his status as a Team Jordan member, and consisted of numerous player exclusive colorways of Air Jordan models like the 2, 5, 12, and beyond.

Given his fan-favorite status in Detroit and his impressive sneaker résumé, it’s no surprise that Hamilton was tapped by eBay to help open up their Hard to Find Gift Shop on Michigan Avenue this past weekend. The two-day pop-up experience was meant to give local shoppers an easier go at purchasing coveted and limited sneakers this holiday season. Popular models like Air Jordan 1s, Nike Dunks, and Adidas Yeezys were all up for grabs. More rare releases such as “Freddy Krueger” Nike SB Dunk Lows or Kanye West Bapestas were also on the shelves for sale. There was even a display of all 50 Off-White x Nike Dunk Lows. The curation was aided by sneaker store Urban Necessities founder Jaysse Lopez.

“I think with all the supply chain disruptions we are having in the holiday season, it’s just getting tougher and tougher for people to find the gifts that they want to give” says eBay GM of sneakers Garry Thaniel. Future pop-ups are also set for Houston and Miami in December. Thaniel hints at these holiday season activations being the beginning of many more community-building experiences that eBay will roll out around the country in the coming months. “We wanted to do the Hard to Find Gift Shop to give people an opportunity to find these really rare and unique gifts.”

Both Lopez and Hamilton were in attendance for the grand opening of the shop on Nov. 19. Hamilton, a veteran in the sneaker game, says it was the perfect initiative to align himself with in the city. After all, sneakers are atop many young kids’ wishlists during the holidays these days. He acknowledges that he isn’t surprised that sneakers have become as big of a commodity with increasingly younger crowds as they have, though.

“As kids, everything was about what you had on your feet, right,” says Hamilton. “I just think that the access is way different than ever before. You know, all the secondhand sites, the consignment market, and people making a business out of it more than anything else. But I like it. I enjoy it.”

We got a chance to catch up with Hamilton over Zoom while he was at eBay’s Hard to Find Sneaker Shop in Detroit on Friday afternoon. The Pistons legend discussed scouring eBay to find his grail sneakers, told us which one of his Air Jordan PEs he would want to see release, his opinion on whether the 2004-2005 Pistons could stack up against today’s NBA, and more.

 

Image via eBay

Can you talk a little bit about this partnership with eBay, this pop-up that you’re at today, and just how exactly you’re involved?

Oh, it was a match made in heaven. Me being with Brand Jordan, everybody knows with Brand Jordan you’re able to get some of the most exclusive shoes in the world and we get them before everybody else gets them. So, I love being with the brand. When eBay brought up the opportunity to partner with the event here, Hard to Find shoes here in Detroit, Michigan, I thought it was perfect just knowing what my brand represents and what they’re trying to get across. To be back in Detroit, do something special here, was something that I couldn’t turn down.

I’m sure with your Jordan connection over the years it’s been pretty easy to get whatever you’re looking for. But were you ever scouring eBay back in the day?

Oh yeah, always was the eBay guy, just trying to figure out how to find the most exclusive or my favorite pair of shoes. And back in the day, the internet wasn’t what it was today, how easy everything is, app-based, where kids can go look up a limited shoe on the resale market. It’s on another planet these days. But still to this day, I still go on eBay. It might sound crazy to people, but people don’t know that even with the brand, they’re only making a limited number of shoes. Once the shoes go, from the brand standpoint, there’s no other way to get them. So sometimes you got to go out on the resale market and try to find some of them grails that you or your kids want. So, I can tell you that I’m an active shopper on eBay too.

Is there anything in particular over the years, maybe you misplace a PE and you’re trying to track it down or maybe you miss out on a retro and are trying to get it. Is there anything like that over the years that you’ve tried to track down on eBay?

Yes. You know what, actually, I was trying to track down some of my sneakers that someone stole from me. I can say that. So, if you ever see some shoes pop up online and then people say they’re my PEs, they were actually taken from me when I moved. So I’m still trying to recoup. So yes, I am out there actively trying to get all my PEs back.

Hopefully people will see this and help you track them all down.

Yes. It was in Florida.

Obviously, you’ve always been a sneaker guy. To this day, people relate the 14s to you from when you rocked them back at UConn. I’m sure you were into shoes before that, too. Is it crazy, as someone who’s always been into sneakers, to see what it has become now?

No, not really because if you think about it, as kids, everything was about what you had on your feet, right? I had the luxury of being a professional athlete and having a relationship with the greatest player to ever play the game in Michael Jordan. I was able to get a lot of the sneakers that I dreamed of as a kid when I was an adult. So, I just think that the access is way different than ever before. You know, all the secondhand sites, the consignment market, and people making a business out of it more than anything else. But I like it. I enjoy it. I think that the sneaker culture is very, very hip. So anytime eBay puts on an event like this, it’s something special because you understand the art of being a collector and the art of the shoe.

One of the big releases coming up in a few weeks for the holidays is the “Cool Grey” Air Jordan 11s. A lot of people are looking forward to those. Do you have any memories related to the “Cool Grey” 11s?

Oh, absolutely. I mean, the black and white [11s] have always been one of my favorite shoes. But when the Cool Greys came out, I was with the Washington Wizards at the time. I’m a strong believer in, if you look good, you play good. I was always the guy that made sure that I had the freshest shoes on my feet. That was the year that I used to beg MJ for his shoes because he used to walk around the locker room with all the samples. So that was one of the luxuries of playing with him. He would come in the locker room every day with a different sample shoe, a sample shirt, or whatever. He would get the response of all the young kids. Because you got to remember, Michael Jordan was a little older at the time. We were 20, 21. So he was able to get real opinions off of kids that were 20, 21 years old that had a huge impact on the sneaker culture.

And then I think as the story goes, around that time, he tells you that you’ll eventually get your Jordans and everything once you’re an All-Star and everything. Obviously, that happens for you and you end up having all these great PEs throughout your career. If you could pick one of your Jordan PEs to be able to release to the public for fans to purchase, which one would you pick and why would you pick that one?

Hmm, the Jordan 14s they kinda put out, the ones I wore in college, the candy cane ones, which was dope. I thought that that was very relatable for the fans. But for me, I think it’s the Jordan 2s, man. I was a fan of them shoes. They were probably my favorite Jordan to play in, very underrated shoe that people don’t talk about as much. If it was one shoe, I would say the Jordan 2s. And they just came out with the Off-White ones too. I was super proud that they did that one.

You’ve been able to build a legacy for yourself in Detroit. Do you have a sneaker memory specifically related to your time as a Piston?

The Jordan 5s, that’s another PE that I think that they should do in Detroit colors. That was a dope one, too. And the reason why they’re so memorable to me especially in my career is because they’re the shoes that I wore in Madison Square Garden and dropped 51 points. So that was probably one of my most memorable ones because MJ would always tell me how Madison Square Garden was the Mecca of basketball. You heard about them stories from afar as a kid, reading all the books and watching all the videos, but being in a locker room with him and him telling you that, and then getting the opportunity to go there and remember when he dropped the double nickel there...To have a great game like that, I think that that would probably be one of my most memorable moments for sure, the Jordan 5s for 50.

 

Image via Getty/Jesse D. Garrabrant

So I wanted to ask you a few basketball questions. First, I wanted to stick to the city. I know the Pistons are sort of in a rebuilding spot right now, but the past few games it seems like Cade Cunningham is starting to come into his own. Have you been keeping up with the team’s season and if so, what are your thoughts on Cade and his future with the team?

Yes. I’ve definitely been keeping up with the squad. I think we’re moving in the right direction. We definitely had some hiccups over the years, but in sports that happens. I would just tell fans to stay patient. I feel like Cade is definitely a building block for us. If you look over the history of the Pistons and what the city and the organization embodies, one thing that we always have is great point guards. From Isiah Thomas, Chauncey Billups, we had great leaders when it comes to that guard position. And I think Cade is the guy. I just tell people to stay patient. He’s still a kid, he’s still young, he’s still learning the system and new city and everything else. But I think he’s the guy that we can build around.

A big face in a new place this year is Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles. So far, there’s been some ups and some downs there, but I know it’s early on. How do you see him fitting in with LeBron, AD, and Melo? Do you think they can make it work when it counts down the stretch and in the playoffs?

Yeah, I think they understand that. This team is going to be judged on if they win a championship or not, right? What they do in the regular season really doesn’t matter. When you add Russ to that ball club, you add another superstar for moments like this, when LeBron James is out. But also you got to understand that Russ, if you look at Russ and the last couple of years, he’s been a second half of the year type of player, right? Him going to Houston, him going to the Wizards, he tends to struggle early. It’s just a new system, new location, new players, and everything else like that.

So, I just think that we gotta give them time. I’ll tell you what, in the playoffs, in a seven-game series, you don’t want to match up with a team that got LeBron, Russell Westbrook, and AD all on one squad. I just think that, you know, LeBron is one of the greatest players that ever played the game. He can adjust his game to play with anybody, and he’s proven that just by going to win a championship in different cities. So I just think that, yes, they’re having struggles right now with spacing and all that stuff like that when it comes to the technical part of the game. But I just think that you got to give them a little bit more time.

Lastly, I just wanted to ask, I know the game is played differently than it was back then, but that ‘04 team you were a part of in Detroit was real special. You guys were a true team. How do you feel like you guys would fare in the league today if you guys were all together in your prime?

We’ll beat all of ‘em. And the reason why I say we’ll beat all of ‘em is because one, we were locked in as a group. Not to say that there’s not other great teams out there, but when you look at how the game has changed now, teams have went small. We’re able to stay big. And the reason why is because if you look at Tayshaun, Ben [Wallace], and Rasheed, they’re probably three of the greatest defenders of all time. All three guys can guard one through five. And that’s where we really had success during that time, we were able to switch everything. So now you see teams switching pick and roll, they switch pin downs, and they switch everything because of the shooting part of the game. With the team that we had defensively, we can do that. And we can actually score on you, too, and take advantage of mismatches on the other end.