I have always wanted to illustrate NFL athletes. So here they are now. And yes of course, it's gotta be the Green Bay Packers for me (at least the first ones)
I've said it before. Not a Jordan fan. But why such an effort in illustrating Michael Jordan? Well MJ is the greatest of all time—the GOAT if you will—in basketball. And PERHAPS in all of sports and athletes. But there is just something in his moves that is just plain... art.
The past posts, I illustrated Slam Dunk characters in NBA uniforms as how Takehiko Inoue must have imagined them. Shohoku representing Bulls, Kainan for Lakers, Sannoh for Magic. Here, I'm back with my own fictional universe of NBA X Slam Dunk, as my original post.
When Kobe died, I couldn't take it. All of us, couldn't believe it. But that's just life, and maybe, that's just what death is too. But Kobe Bryant, he and his winning shots, he and his devastating dunks, it would echo for the whole time he represented. He just wouldn't let anyone outshine him on his watch. He just wouldn't let anyone hold him down for long. His Mamba Mentality created a generation of winners. His life was truly a legendary story.
Shaquile O'Neal was the most dominant big man of his time. He was quick, strong and wise and those can be seen in his stats—points, rebounds, blocks. This portrait was the Orlando Magic Shaq—the young Shaq that despite his tremendous power, was still working his way up the steps of NBA greatness. A rookie with crazy potential. A young man destined for the Hall of Fame. He didn't disappoint.
Grant Hill. He was sensational. Good handles. Scoring machine. Good defender. He was known as Mr. Nice Guy, yet as tough when it really counted. In the time of MJ's absence, Grant Hill was seen as his successor—some in the media actually believed he could have been better than MJ. Tough statement to make.
Before Steph Curry, there was the legendary trash-talking three-point sharp shooter Reggie Miller. He made impossible shots and won seemingly impossible games. Truly, a legend from the '90s.
This, for me, is Michael Jordan. The hard teammate. The ultra-competitive. The proud monarch. The undefeated champion.
I was never a fan of MJ. I never collected his cards. I didn't really root that much for his games. But it was harder not to be in awe of this certain genius.