It all puma evospeed started in 1973, when Frazier became not only Puma's first signature athlete but also the first player in basketball history to get his own sneaker. At the time, Frazier had a championship ring and was after another, averaging 21.1 points, 5.9 assists and a career-high 7.9 rebounds a game during the '72-'73 season as the All-Star point guard for the New York Knicks.Before Air Jordans, there were Puma Clydes. Frazier wanted a shoe that was wide, light and designed with sufficient puma clyde interior padding.

The Clyde ultimately emerged as one of the most influential sneakers of all time  a shoe that, after being embraced by hip-hop culture, transcended puma ignite limitless the sport of basketball. It was the epitome of style and embodiment of cool. Everyone, from ballplayers to break dancers, wanted to wear Puma  and Frazier was a huge reason why.I'd been a Frazier fan since I was a little kid," said retired two-time NBA champion Wes Matthews, 59, who endorsed Puma from black puma 1984 to 1986.

Puma scooped up Sampson, making him the company's highest-profile basketball signing since Frazier. But there was one problem: Puma didn't manufacture shoes in his gargantuan size 17. So the brand had to produce prototypes, which Sampson wore for most of his rookie year, including in the inaugural NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1984.Sampson's exclusive prototypes, some game-worn versions of which have sold fenty puma creepers at auction over the years, turned into pairs of his own sneakers that Puma then cranked out tirelessly.

I made sure they gave me a couple extra pairs that I'd take on the road in case they got scuffed up or tore. & I felt like, OK, I'm wearing one of the baddest shoes in America." And he wasn't the only one."The Sky LX, by leaps and bounds, was the most superior performance shoe Puma ever did up until that point," Garcia said. "The polyurethane midsole, great cushioning on the ankle  it became one of those coveted sneakers.