This weekend (July 9-10), Quai 54 are bringing their legendary streetball event back to Paris, in partnership with Jordan Brand. Since its inception back in 2003, Hammadoun Sidibé and Thibaut de Longeville’s brainchild has grown to be the biggest streetball event in the world and an essential date in every B-Ball fan’s calendar.
Last year, Quai 54 made an impeccable return after lockdown, mixing top-flight athleticism, street style and A-list music talent for their biggest event to date. This year, however, they have somehow managed to outdo themselves with even bigger names, even more show-stopping action, and a celebration of the West African diaspora and its influence on Parisian and French culture.
Once again with the Eiffel Tower as its backdrop, the 2022 edition will feature a lot of the familiar elements of past events; there’ll be the usual men’s tournament with 16 teams from 10 countries from around the world (making a total of 160 pro and amateur players), and the women’s tournament—which debuted last year—will also return with 8 teams of 80 pro and amateur ballers. The fan favourite Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday is also making a return. Of the four American participants, Tony Crosby II—who bagged the win at last year’s event—will return, joined by Christopher Spell and Tyler Currie. Also on the program is a 3-point shooting competition and a half-court shooting competition.
NBA stars Zion Williams and Luka Dončić will be there, in conversation for a #SNKRSLIVE Session, sharing their invaluable knowledge and experience, their on- and off-court sneaker preferences and thoughts on the future of basketball. This will be available to watch live and exclusively via the SNKRS app this Sunday, July 10, at 6pm CET.
On top of all of that, Quai 54 have also curated a whole line-up of international music stars from West Africa and the diaspora. Headlining will be U.S. rap star DaBaby, along with N’Seven7, Chily, Leto, Franglish, Guy2bezbar, and Naza, who will all be representing their home country, as well as Congolese singer Fally Ipupa, Nigerian dancehall star 1da Banton, and Afrobeats queen Yemi Alade.
To celebrate this massive, landmark event, a new Jordan x Quai 54 collection has arrived, with apparel already available to buy and sneaker drops for the Air Jordan 1 Utility Stash Quai 54, Air Jordan 7 Quai 54 and the much anticipated Jordan Luka 1 coming soon. The Quai 54 collection puts West African identity front and centre by using traditional, authentic West African dying processes and graphic patterns, and mixes them with Parisian culture to create striking designs from a rich colour palette.
