Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
Issue link: http://dimemagazine.epubxp.com/i/73806
beckoned us to follow him into the shadows. "Shh," he motioned with his finger, whis- pering. "You gotta be quiet so you don't wake the sneakers up." Lights come on. Jaws drop. They all buy cars. A few will start up record labels with childhood friends or buy into restaurants. Some purchase houses with luxurious outdoor swimming pools, movie theaters and even bowling lanes. Joe John- son built a sneaker vault, and then secured it with a fingerprint system so restricted that even Ocean's Eleven couldn't break in. The six-time All-Star, who averaged 18.8 points for the 40-26 Atlanta Hawks this past season, never shies away from showing off the fruits of his labor. In Dime #37, we fea- tured his suped-up super truck. Since then, he's added an interesting paint job to it, as well as acquiring an all-white Matte Aston Martin with a red interior. But it's that sneaker closet that stands out. Big enough to shoot baskets in, large enough to hold over 1,000 pairs of Jordans, actually calling this part of his Atlanta home a closest doesn't do it justice. A closet wouldn't have a bed. A closet wouldn't have a ceiling lined with mirrors or a wall with a basketball hoop. And a closet definitely wouldn't be this exclusive. As Johnson put it simply, "You can't get in the vault man unless you're Joe Johnson." A 6-7 swingman with career averages of 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists, Johnson has been a part of the Jordan Brand for six years. With the individually custom- ized sneakers flowing in, it didn't take that long to run out of room. Even now, Johnson admits it won't be long until he has to ex- pand his vault again. During a break from this hectic 66-game season, Johnson brought us to his Atlanta crib to show off his unique car collection and even more impressive sneaker vault. Why'd he need something so grand? We'll let him explain. my friends. We all go in there and we shoot on the goal that I got hanging up in there. We might bet for pushups or you gotta go jump in the pool when it's ice cold outside. It's pretty big. I take naps in there too. I got a bed that was in there. I took it out but I'm gonna put it back in. Dime: So you actually do stuff in there? It's not just a sneaker closet? JJ: Nah. Well I mean that's the main theme of it, my sneaker closet. But I just try to do some cool stuff, put a bed, a TV in there, things of that nature. I just like the feel of it. Dime: Describe the room to me. Joe Johnson: It's a nice size. It's big enough for me and probably about six or seven of 62 Dime: How did you get the idea for this? JJ: Man it was just a vision I had. I've never