It was the sneaker that separated the west coast from the east coast in basketball. Two NBA icons were going head-to-head in the NBA Finals, and both were forced to "draw their weapons". The Converse "Weapon" sneaker was the first of its kind to tailor the colorway to a specific team.
It was Magic Johnson's colorway that really stood out, matching perfectly with the purple and gold Laker uniforms. Red Auerbach had the Celtics' team wearing black shoes, which left Larry Bird's Weapons without much detail to the naked eye. Just a simple black and white shoe.
I also remember not seeing Magic's Weapon shoe in New York City at that time. From what I understand, you could only get Magic's colorway on the West, and Bird's on the East. Which sucked for everybody that loved the Lakers during that era.
It was the campaign that really set it off, and Converse played up to hype of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. With tags that read "choose your weapon" with Bird and Magic standing back-to-back was pure genius for marketing the sneakers.
There were many players that were also endorsed by Converse to wear the "Weapons", however, only two colorways really mattered at that time. Larry Bird's black and white Weapons, and Magic Johnson's purple, white, and gold kicks. Don't get me wrong, Bernard King, Mark Aguirre, and Isiah Thomas were all good players, and repped their teams respectively. But none of those guys were on the Celtics or the Lakers. The two big guns were the only ones that held it down for the crown. The Converse "Weapons" will forever be known as an iconic shoe that helped to shape the sneaker culture into what it is today. Legendary GREATNESS. Cali "O" #TeamKickGame
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