Having managed to cover Quai 54 last year but sadly missing it this time around, Jordan Brand have fortunately released a video that recaps this year’s event. It looks to get bigger and better than the last one, as streetballers from across the globe hit Paris to compete in Quai 54 – the International Streetball Championship. The event seemed to have been jammed packed full of basketball, culture, hip-hop and action; just what Quai 54’s all about. Peep the video below to how the whole thing popped off.

Check the Jordan Quai 54 kicks that coincided with the event, here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Since attending NBA star Chris Paul’s rededication of the Jordan Brand court some months ago, we eagerly anticipated the next dose of activity on the court from Nike. This came on Saturday 2^nd October, as the London School of Basketball was launched at Lilian Baylis Old School, Kennington.

London School of Basketball is a new network of coaches, delivering coordinated basketball across London to increase sustainable grass-roots participation and positive playing opportunities. It aims to deliver a legacy for basketball in London, by increasing sustainable participation in the sport. Eight London boroughs are currently engaged in the programme, with a lead coach appointed in each borough.  The boroughs are; Lambeth, Southwark, Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Barking, Islington and Sutton. Nike has committed to grow the reach of LSB to a minimum of 11 boroughs by September 2012

The coaches deliver open access basketball, helping the development of girls’ and boys’ teams from U12-U20. The youth will have access to competitions via to central basketball leagues, mentoring, training and support for them to become coaches/community sports leaders, and progressive pathways to elite basketball for talented ballers.

Nike is a key funder in the LSB structure and also supports the network with product and experiences. LSB is also supported by a number of additional public and private sector partners, which include: Sport Action Zone, NBA, Laureus, Sport England, England Basketball, Greenwich Leisure Ltd and the Metropolitan Police.

Mandy Ayres, Director of Sustainable Business and Innovation at Nike, summed up Nike’s commitment to the LBS:

“Nike is excited to be part of a coordinated effort to give young Londoners opportunities to play basketball. At Nike, we believe in the power of the sport to create a positive impact on young people’s lives on and off the court”.

To help launch LBS, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant took time out of the team’s busy pre-season training schedule, to watch and advise 100 LBS ballers aged 15-20 rotate around four work stations, all designed to develop fitness, agility and all-around basketball skills, whilst being coached by NBA coaches in partnership with LSB coaches. Kobe took it upon himself to help some of the children with their understanding of each drill, by physically giving examples of how to complete the drill, and explaining how the drill can help in an in-game situation. This was enough activity to inspire not only the youth involved, but some of the elder attendees that once played the sport!

As Kobe moved between workstations, his movement was well documented by all in attendance. He seemed to have an aura of calmness about him, but also seemed to be slightly overwhelmed by the fact that basketball is well received out here.

As the workstations came to a close, he moved to the Jordan Brand court, to give an inspiring talk to the kids. He told stories of his youth, and how dedicated he was to development and growth at a young age. When asked about his introduction to basketball by one of the young ballers, he told the crowd that he began playing at the age of 2. A large gasp of astonishment came from the kids, making one assume that they were encouraged to work harder and catch up on the years of training they have missed out on!

After addressing the youth, Kobe then went on to implement what will now be mandatory for all NBA players that visit the LBS: making a clay hand-print, that will be wall-mounted to inspire all LBS members as they train. This was followed by a closed media session, which featured the following questions and answers:

Where are your rings?
You know I have a safe. I put them in a safe and I don’t wear them. I wear them only one time, which is the night we receive the rings at the ceremony then I put them away with the others. I don’t touch them or look at them and it’s on to the next one.

You have a lot of involvement with your kicks- the design of them. Which have been your favourites of all time including previous endorsements?
My favourite shoe is always the next one.

What can we look to expect in the next one?
I don’t want to spoil the one for this season but the technology that we put in, is even better than the ones I’m wearing now and the one that’s coming out after that is an even greater improvement. What I try to do is focus on adding things and making things better because it starts with performance.  Design is cool but that’s easy, just the finishing touches. But the foundation of the house needs to be solid, has to be built for performance something that can actually help you perform better. We went to a lower cut shoe, lighter shoe and the technology within the shoe helps you change directions quicker and faster. All of those things help optimize performance that’s why I can say the next shoe is my favourite because the technology within the shoe has improved and it helps my performance.

What would you say your most memorable game is?
Game 7 of the finals this year! Always! Because you win a game in a way nobody expects you to win. This is how the Celtics play, this is their style you know and everybody felt we couldn’t play that style. So we proved everybody wrong. So game 7 is my favourite.

What’s it like having Phil Jackson as a coach?
We’re very lucky to have him. He’s not a rah-rah kind of coach. Like [shouts] “GET ON THE LINE!” He doesn’t do that. He sits back and he coaches basketball. What I mean by that is it’s all execution, all fundamentals, basic things. A lot of coaches kinda wear out their welcome by giving rah-rah speeches and being in guys faces. But Phil doesn’t do that. He doesn’t critique you as a person or your character as a person. He critiques your execution on the basketball court and he’s very consistent.

Are you going to retire at the same time as Derrick Fisher? Cos you guys came in together?
Maybe? We’ll see. He’s got me in a couple years (age wise) tho!

Who’s the toughest player to guard in the NBA?
The toughest player for me to guard is Carmelo Anthony cos he’s so big! I mean the guys massive! I’m like a little string bean to him. So to fight him… he’s very physical, he’s very smart. There is only maybe 3 or 4 players in the entire NBA that can shoot 3, shoot the pull up jump shot from mid range and post up. Not too many people can do all three.

Is LeBron one?
He’s become one last year. His mid range game is still a work in progress. The guys like 6’ 9’’ three hundred and sumthin pounds he can get to the ring whenever he wants to. But Carmelo’s pull up game going left; going right he’s a pure scorer. So that’s hard for me.

Talking about LeBron. How do you think the LeBron and Bosh deal influences the chances of the Lakers 3 peating?
Yeah well… It makes it a little tougher! It’s fun for me and for my guys. Were all just like everybody else we sit and watch and I think their gonna be great. I’ve played with LeBron and Bosh on the Olympic Team and I think their gonna gel well and do alright.

Out of the new additions in the Lakers team, which players impresses you the most?
The guys like the veterans that I’ve seen play Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, Theo Ratliff I’ve played against those guys hundreds of time so I know exactly what they can do. But our rookies, our young guy Eubanks and Character they really impressed me. Their patience and understanding of the game has been very good.

Who would normally win in a one on one between you…
I would! I would win!

…Between you and LeBron?
That’s what I believe. One on one is easy for me. Playing one on one is what I grew up playing. That’s like my thing. LeBron is more like a Magic Johnson per say who is a great passer he plays an all around game. That core of me is of a one on one player. I do that in my sleep.

Going into a game coming off a loss or going through a tough stretch/period in your game what goes through your head? And what do you tell the young players?
I think about the next sequence. You see if you sit in the moment and the moments not going how you wanted it to go then you can get bogged down by that and it’s like quick sand. The more you struggle you can’t get out. Sometimes you’ve got to wait for someone to extend that branch and you’ve got to grab that branch so they can pull you out and that’s what team mates are for. But I only always try to think about the next thing and stay positive. You don’t self talk yourself like “I’m playing like crap, I stink!” You can’t do that you always think about the next opportunity and try to have a clear mind.

Everyone was then led to the schools main hall, for all the LBS children and special guests to have a formal introduction to Kobe. Kobe addressed the mass crowd, and answered general questions from Kiss 100’s host DJ for the night, DJ Neev Ranu. She also assisted with a Coach Appreciation Ceremony, in which a number of LSB coaches were presented with trophies by Kobe. After this we were hastily whisked away for our media interview with the man of the hour:

What’s it like to have Phil Jackson back as coach for another title run, in what he keeps saying might be his final season?
Well it means everything to us, for the simple fact that we don’t have to change everything. It’s like we’re a well oiled machine right now, and with him stepping down, it’ll be an adjustment period working with a new coach; so we don’t have that issue.

Your going for a sixth title this season, which will equal Michael Jordan’s amount. We’ve seen reinforcements around the league brought in by Boston, Miami. Are you any less motivated this year to get number six, as you were to get number one?
Noooo. I’ve never been less motivated in my entire life. I’ve always been very driven, very motivated; This is what I’m here for. I’m ready to go!

About legacy. London 2012. We’re sure your going be back here in two years time to get another Olympic Gold with Team USA. You had a chance to meet with the London Basketball Academy kids and coaches earlier. What do you think a games like the Olympics will do for basketball in Britain, and to get young people engaged in playing the sport?
I think the critical component to it, is them understanding the beauty within the game. From the kids that I saw today, I saw a lot of talent. Many physically gifted: height, athleticism, etc. So, I think the big key is for us to get over here, and to have clinics, have things where we can continue to teach and show them the game; I think that’s how you grow it. Then, when the Olympics come, hopefully it’ll give the kids a chance to learn, cause they’re watching the best basketball players in the entire world. Hopefully that’ll stay with them.

In this country, grass routes participation is very important, but professionally it doesn’t really go hand-in-hand. With the question mark that the Team GB has for the 2012 Olympics, what are your thoughts on that?
It’s a process. It’s like in the States with soccer: you see soccer (football as they call it here) at a grass routes level, but it hasn’t grown to it’s ultimate potential professionally in the States; but that’s a process. It’s something that takes time. There are a lot of talented basketball players here that I’ve seen though.

Any chance of a US-UK final?
[Everyone laughs]

You know, Loul Deng is a phenomenal player, so we’ll see.

With the USA’s victory in the World Championships in Turkey, many have said that that should be the same squad going to London 2012. Obviously you weren’t in Turkey. What do you say to that?
Well, I mean, it could be… I have no problem with that at all. I think Jerry Colangelo’s done a great job. When you look at the roster that we had in ’08 and then the team we had in the World’s, everybody said: this team’s not gonna do it, this team’s not gonna do it. He put together an incredible team, and they won!

So, now everybody’s saying: Well, they should be the same team, they should be the same team. You know, that’s just how it is. I think its his decision; his made great ones so far, and is not gonna stop.

What do you make of Kevin Durant’s performance in the World Championships, and also the team itself, as it was a young team?
Very proud. I was very proud, because they were young, playing against some very experienced teams from other countries; they kept their composure, they played together at both ends of the floor, and I couldn’t have been any prouder.

You’ve been talking about keeping the core together. What exactly is the bond that you guys have, by keeping guys around like Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom?
One of the things we’ve continually talked about from the beginning of this process years ago, was to grow together. I think that gives us an advantage, cause we know each other so well. We’re really like brothers; we spend so much time together, so when you have that rapport, you don’t have to work so hard on drilling execution so hard. You just remind each other about things; then you move onto another level of understanding as a unit.

How do you integrate new guys and get them on the same page? Guys like Steve Blake, and rookies?
Well, it’s easy because the majority of our team speaks the same language, cause we’ve all been together. So, when you bring in new guys, they’re just around the game and how we talk about the game, how we communicate with each other about the game is a different language. I think they pick up on that, just by osmosis alone, and mature with us as the season goes on.

What’s a game-day like?
Typically how we do is like: I’ll get up early in the morning. I’ll go work out and I’ll train. Then right after

I train, we have practise; we just call it ’shoot around’. We go over the offence that you’ll see from the team you’re playing against that night. You go over what they’re gonna do, you prepare your defence, what they might do defensively, stuff like that.

Then we all go our separate ways; Come back around 5 o’clock, for a 7:30pm game.

Do you have any personal pre-game rituals?
Umm, nah. I mean, my meals before a game are always the same. Mashed Potatoes and Salmon. Salmon’s been like my pre-game meal.

We respect the fact that at your age and with your experience in basketball, you still work on your game, as you have done so with Hakeem Olyjuwan. Not many players are still commuted to growth at such a time in their career. What inspires and motivates you to better  yourself?
Cause I love it! I love the game. There’s always an infinite curiosity, like what more? What else can I learn? I think that’s key. You have to keep that curiosity. I’m just infinitely curious about the sport!

Do you ever have a mirror moment, where you say: that’s me?
Yeah! You know, the fact I’m in London playing basketball – that’s crazy! Growing up, I never thought that this [basket]ball would take me all around the world.  Me and Lamar Odom were just talking on the bus, saying: how amazing in the morning we were just practising in Los Angeles; now here we are in London. All this because of a ball! That’s pretty awesome.

Earlier in your career you rapped. We know fellow Laker, Ron Artest, has his own record label and with a ball you can beat him one-on-one, but do you guys ever battle with a freestyle?
Nah, nah [laughs]. You know, for fun we just kinda goof around, and stuff like that. We have a very loose team man. Very loose. You gotta be able to enjoy yourself, so we do just kinds goof around. We have fun.

So no albums or collaborations coming out?
[Laughs] Nah, I ain’t got time for that! I got kids now, and got championships to win!

All in all, a memorable day was had by all. The children were more than joyful to see and interact with one of their most popular and favoured players, and the London School of Basketball was given the best formal introduction it could ever have.

We would like to thank Nike for inviting WeAreHQ down for this memorable opening, to what we envisage as the beginning of an influential platform for young basketball players across our city.

The rest of our coverage for the day:

Words by Dav and B.

Photography by B and Viv Morris aka Cavalry Arts.

Starting off on the Wednesday morning, we were up at 7am and had to make our way over to NikeTown to interview Lamar Odom (as seen earlier in the week). With that done, the next step was for the Western Europe team to go and experience the Nike basketball history, over in Harlem at the Ball Room.

Question: If Air Force 1 came out in 1983, why did Nike do a big campaign for the Air Force 1 25th Anniversary a year early? And why does it say 1982 on all Air Forces now?

This was the most impressive location that Nike have produced… Period! I have never seen the product, information (Aathough some of it was wrong!), design and thought that went in to it was incredible. The time-line of the basketball jersey, the actual basketball and the time-line of the game it self.

iTHE FIRST EVER RULES OF BASKETBALL!!! Written by the person who created the game… James Naismith! Thank you!

At the back of the room was the creative section that showed how certain basketball shoes were created and where the inspiration came from. That was inspirational just seeing it. The Hyperfuse, the Kobes, even the new Air Jordans were shown in its early stages with diagrams and prototypes along side.

Then there was the signature move screens on the side walls. This is where you can use the 42″ touch screen TVs to scroll through players in the league and watch them teach you their “Signature Move”… Still quite baffled why Lebron James had a Crossover as his signature move? Oh well…! But the best part of the touch screen software was the shoe archives!! You were able to scroll through all the shoes in the database till you see one you like… Click on it… It will tell you about the shoes, you can spin them 360 degrees and zoom in and all sorts… Just cant hold them! Sounds familiar! Story of my life!

Anyway… The pictures cannot explain how incredible this space was, but enjoy them anyway.

The court has encouraged more young people to make a positive contribution to basketball in the capital by providing them with a space to improve their skills as well as their lives. The morning was centered around a coaching clinic for a number of London’s best Point Guards, Chris Paul witnessed a number of boys and girls going through numerous skills-enhancing drills and he took his time to visit each group, watching and listening to the coaches and children, as they sought to improve their ball handling and footwork.

After watching, he gave the children an opportunity to ask him any questions that they had, some of which were really thought provoking and Paul, true to his professional and extremely humble self took the time to answer them back as well as sharing some very with inspiring and encouraging words for them to take away from the day.

The day was capped off with Chris, Gentry Humphrey (International GM of Jordan Brand), and London coach Junior Williams officially re-dedicating the court.

We were given the opportunity to sit down with Chris Paul, and ask a few questions:

HQ: What brings you to the UK?

CP: Rededicatin’ the Lilian Bayliss court, and gettin’ the opportunity to see the kids. Most of all, to be a part of all the action.

HQ: We know this is your first time to London. Have you been to any other cities or countries in Europe?

CP: Naw. First time, first time.

HQ: Basketball’s seen as an American sport. When you go to Paris, are you going to be raising awareness or the sport over there?

CP: Yes, yes, definitely. We’re also participatin’ in The Quai 54, a huge 3-on-3 outdoor tournament. For me, playin’ so much basketball, the way the game has grown is unbelievable. It’s global now. Especially when you go to the Olympics; it was always ‘the USA was gona win by so much’, but now it’s up in the air. If you went to the NBA and went through the top 25 players, there are a lot from Europe, China, etc. I’m sure for a lot of the older guys in the league, that’s pretty rare for them, cause they were around when there were not as many European players. For me, that’s all I’ve known, you know, because me and Luol Deng were in High School together at the same time, and played in the McDonald’s All-American game together at the same time.

HQ:  Does that change the style and feel of the game, because the European players tend to have a good long distance shooting element. They bring a different dynamic and intensity to it. Do you find that progresses the game?

CP: I love it, I love it. I think it has progressed the game. Just think about it: year’s ago, no one knew what a Euro-Step was. Putting both blends of the game together is progressin’ the game amazingly. I tell people I didn’t start that huge Euro-step until the playoffs in ’08. I didn’t do that when I was in college; I didn’t know about it; and its funny, cause now I see my AAU teams, and younger kids when they play, they do these moves that I didn’t start doin’ until I was in the NBA. It’s really good to see how fast the game is progressin’.

HQ: Are you consciously watching how the game is played around the world, because we look towards America, the powerhouse that is the NBA and Jordan Brand as our main point of focus. When you think of basketball, you associate it with America. Are NBA players looking outside of their own?

CP: Yes. Well, if you’re a basketball junkie you are. Like, I watch basketball all-day everyday! Jada (my wife) will probably tell ya, before I go to games, a lot of times on NBA TV they’re showing The Eurobasket, and I’m watchin’. It’s a different intensity, cause all those games over there, are almost like Olympic games. Like, if you loose, you might die! I actually have a lot of my friends that play overseas, so I also get the opportunity to see them.

HQ: At 25 years old, you’re fairly young to captain a team. How much pressure is on your shoulders, and how to you deal with it all?

CP: I don’t think there’s really any pressure. I think its more responsibility, in that, being a captain at a young age is all about credibility. You know, in anythin’ you do, any profession, any field, say your not the captain, say your the boss, the only way people are gona follow you, is if you lead by example.  You have to be the hardest worker; you need to be the first to arrive and last to leave the gym. I think the best quality of a leader, is bein’ able to follow. Sometimes people can’t lead as well, cause if somebody tells them somethin’, they don’t wana hear it.

HQ: Does it help to have a veteran ear to be a kind of counsellor to you? I know you have James Posey on your team, and he has been around for a while, so has probably experienced a lot in the league.

CP: Yes. Its funny, cause Pose been around for a while. He actually called me last night when we got to the hotel, and we talked for a while. In my rookie year, I had P.J. Brown. He really was that guy for me, that taught me what it’s like to be a professional. What it means to carry the load, and to be a leader. Now, being a leader, you have guys like Pose. When you say somethin’ you always need a guy that’s gona reemphasise it. He’s that guy for me.

HQ: As well as being a member of Team Jordan, your one of only 3 players to have your own shoe with the brand. How did that deal come about?

CP: It came about after my rookie year. Like you say, the only three players to have their own shoe are [Derek] Jeter, myself, and Melo [Carmelo Anthony]. I know you guys are sneaker heads, and I’m the same way. I remember as a kid, bein’ in those lines outside Footlockers and stuff like that, trying to get Jordan’s and different things. You guys have no clue what its like for me to know MJ now, and to have my own shoe under the brand. Like, it’s something that you don’t get used to. Seriously!Like, I can get a new t-shirt, and open the plastic bag and pop the tag…I may not always say it, but there’s a feelin’ that goes through me EVERY single time. Not some of the time, EVERY single time. Its like ‘Wow, look at this’. It’s amazin’!

HQ: What’s your favourite shoe?

CP: I’ve always said the 13’s.

HQ: How closely do you work with Senior Footwear Designer Jason Mayden in creating the feel, look and performance of your shoe?

CP: Very very close. Jay May has been a blessin’ to me. His been unbelievable: not only on the shoe side of it, but as a friend to just talk about different things with. I think he understands it and he gets it, you know. He knows me, so he knows what I’ll like in a shoe. I think the thing that he also understands is it’s about performance too, not just about how it looks. I know that’s a huge part of it, but at the same time, he knows what I like, and it makes everything so much easier when you have someone who wants you to do well and wants you to succeed.

HQ: Give us an interesting fact about yourself?

CP: Golf! I do play golf now; I’m better at bowlin’ though. What do I do in my spare time? We play trivia games a lot. My wife like’s Monopoly, but that game’s too long. We play this game called Buzz on the TV, Scattergories, and Taboo.

HQ: The Olympics is in a couple of years, and the FIBA World Championships are around the corner. When you were speaking to the children earlier, you mentioned a scenario where you were running a break in practise. You looked around and you have all these superstar NBA players on your team. How was it competing alongside other NBA superstars for a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics?

CP: It was pretty surreal competin’ for a gold medal in Beijing, because the only person on our team that had a gold medal was Jason Kidd. So, when you’re in the NBA and you play for different things, everybody wants to win. You may have a guy on your team that’s won a championship before, that’s won two rings, three rings. When you get a group of guys like us that are all trying to get somethin’ for the first time, it brings out a different fire in you.

HQ: Leading on from that, due to the free-agent situation for some of the members of that Olympic squad (LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh), will that affect any of the dynamics of the USA squad for the FIBA World Championships?

CP: Possibly, you know. Different guys may have different things goin’ on, and if you haven’t signed a contract by the time the World Championships have started, I’m sure that’ll have a role in it. I’m not sure what’ll happen’ yet.

HQ: You mentioned that you’re a competitor. Injury is something that affects any athlete, and up until this season, you have been very durable. We know this past season you were hurt. Was that frustrating?

CP: It was VERY frustratin’, cause I hate to watch. I hate to watch basketball, cause I wanna play! With the injury, I think it helped me realise that it can happen and it’s a setback. The thing now is, I’m so excited about next year, because its almost like your startin’ over. Maybe not in the eyes of everybody else, but to me it gives me a fresh start. It makes me more hungrier than ever.

HQ: Any specific goals for the upcoming season?

CP: Stay healthy. That’s my goal, but most of all, I’m tryin’ to win an NBA Championship.

HQ: Thanks for having us Chris.

CP: It’s a pleasure.

We wish Chris Paul all the best with his basketball career, and would like to thank our good friends at Nike for inviting us to share in the rededication of the Jordan Legacy Court.

Questions and interview conducted by Blanchard, Davou, and Lemara.

Photography by Coach and Lemara