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20. Dee Brown
photo by John Biever/SI via SI KidsGuys like Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb and Vince Carter come to mind when thinking of the best participants to ever compete in the Slam Dunk Contest, but the competition was forever changed when a relatively unknown rookie by the name of Dee Brown took center stage in 1991. See, before Brown’s entrance in the Slam Dunk Contest, the competition was humorless and businesslike. There was no smiling and no signs of lightheartedness in the ’80s; MJ, ‘Nique and Spud competed aggressively as if it was a Game 7. The Dunk Contest was not fun. It was vying. That was the aura of the Dunk Contest until Brown changed the climate of the competition by exploiting his sneakers.
On that special night in 1991, Brown altered the course of Reebok and caught the attention of many around the world when he reached down to pump up his Reebok Pump Omni Lite sneakers in between dunks. The crowed swayed Dee Brown’s way, and he immediately became synonymous with Reebok Pumps. Following that moment, a Reebok ad took up one whole page of USA Today that morning, he later received his own signature shoe, the subsequent calendar year was one of the only years Reebok outsold Jordans, and Michael Jordan himself peaked interest.
Brown brought about an exponential shift in marketing through the Dunk Contest for brands, and he was the first to bring more than just dunking to the overall showmanship of the competition. It’s because of Brown and his Pumps that jumping over Kia sedans, hurdling over motorcycles, blowing candles out on cupcakes in mid-air and overall crowd involvement is the standard today.
-George Kiel III
