During the Sneaker of the Year panel during day 1 of ComplexCon in Las Vegas, PJ Tucker and Lil Yachty each shared remarkably similar stories about how much they almost paid for a pair of Nike Wu-Tang Dunks.
Nike’s legendary Wu-Tang Dunk finally released to the public last week and pairs are currently averaging over $260 on the resale market, but it hasn’t always been that way. The sneaker originally surfaced in 1999 for promotional use only with a rumored 100 pairs in existence. It’s long been sought after by collectors.
It was so coveted that NBA veteran and notable sneaker collector PJ Tucker once almost paid $75,000 for a pair.
“I found one [size] 14 in 15 years, and the dude wanted a house down payment for that,” said Tucker, during the Sneaker of the Year panel. “He wanted $75,000. Supposedly one of the only 14s. I actually thought about it, because I wanted the shoe that bad.”
Unknowingly, Lil Yachty—who came late to the panel—one-upped Tucker by almost paying $1,000 more.
“I came across a pair, it was like size 11 and $76,000,” the rapper claimed. “It was crazy, I wanted them so bad, and it made me feel so like, poor.”
Tucker paying that much for such a rare and celebrated sneaker wouldn’t come as a shock to fans who’ve been following his career. He became known for wearing exclusive sneakers on-court throughout his NBA career. From tracking down older player exclusives from teams he played for, to spending extravagantly on multiple Sneaker Shopping appearances, Tucker earned the crown of sneaker king in his nearly 20 years in the NBA.
Lil Yachty, has been amassing an impressive collection of his own—notably hunting down original pairs of 1985 Air Jordan 1s and Dunks. Ironically, the pair both collaborated on Nikes of their own in 2024: PJ Tucker on an Air Flight 89 and Yachty on Air Force 1s.
Check out the ComplexCon website for more info and for tickets to see Playboi Carti perform on Saturday night and Travis Scott headline on Sunday.
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