This weekend AKIRA held their 12th annual fall fashion show, “The Last Dimension” hosted by Marco Foster and Judy Hsu at the Grossinger City Autoplex, a great space for any large scale event with its immense square footage (400,000 to be exact) and industrial, raw template to work off of. Be sure to check out the gallery above of our experience from inside the VIP lounge, behind the scenes of the runway, and view from the front row.
Most of what to experience was before and after the show. Beforehand guests were spoiled with all kinds of goodies; food samplings from Chicago’s top restaurants, an array of beverage options, live DJ sets, spa-like treatments (massages & manicures), photo booths, and of course an exclusive look at this years fall fashion which was up for sale at the 10,000 sq ft pop-up shop AKIRA rendered. There was at least a couple thousand people in attendance this year, some elite guests of the night included James Maslow of Big Time Rush and Chicago Bulls all-star, Joakim Noah.
The fashion show itself lasted about 30 minutes featuring the hottest trends this season some of which were oversized plaid garments, western inspiration (suede fringe, tall-crown hats, aztec colors and prints), soft shades of pastel, and a couple Rick Owens drkshdw themed looks.
A good fashion show or any show for that matter isn’t as entertaining unless there are a couple surprises and this show was no exception. A couple peek-a-boo looks made an appearance on the runway and had the crowd cheering and screaming; of those, for example, was a male dressed in a black leather jacket wearing nothing but a strappy thong. Another series of eye catching looks were boxing themed, which is definitely becoming a fitness craze in Chicago right now. A series of chiseled, shirtless men and women wore revealing neutral toned crop tops (or lack thereof) paired with fitted denim jeans.
After the show guests mingled and were invited to after parties to continue the festivities at both Japonais and Underground with Akira staff, Ford Models, and the Chicago fashion scene. All in all the night was pretty amazing, we received a free gift bag filled with all kinds of swag (clothes, accessories, mini electronic gadgets, and tons of gift cards) and we even got a shoutout from Judy Hsu from the pit, can you spot Gowhere’s Maks G?!
Rose has had a few great postseason performances, but this one is the tops because…
* It’s his career high in points.
* It gave the Bulls a 2-1 series lead.
* It was a road win.
* The Bulls won the series.
* He was efficient: shot 59% from the floor, 57% from three, missed one free throw out of nine, committed two turnovers and one foul.
THEY SAID IT:
“He’s tough to cover anyway. But when his jump shot is falling, he’s the MVP.” — Hawks point guard Jeff Teague
“I just wanted to get my groove back. Knock it down. That’s all I was trying to do.” — Derrick Rose
GUARD – Nate Robinson, 2014 first round, Game 4 vs. Brooklyn (box score)
Bulls 142, Nets 134 — Robinson: 34 points off the bench and the game’s high scorer
You could take either of my second team guard performances here and I wouldn’t argue too much. Nate gets the call for me because, again, the Bulls won the game and the series. The runner he nailed to give the Bulls a two-point lead with 1.7 left in the first overtime finished a stretch of 27 points in 15 minutes. (My postgame column.)
THEY SAID IT:
“I always think I’m on fire, kind of like the old school game NBA Jam. You make a couple in a row, the rim’s on fire. You shoot the ball, the ball’s on fire. I feel like that at times — all the time. Whenever I’m in the game, I just play with a lot of confidence. You kind of have to lie to yourself and feel like you can’t miss.” — Nate Robinson
FORWARD – Luol Deng, 2007 first round, Game 1 vs. Heat (box score)
Bulls 96, Heat 91 — Deng: career playoff high 33 points on 64% shooting, 8 rebounds
After missing the playoffs his rookie year and averaging only 10 points per game in the 2006 playoff loss to the Heat, Luol Deng — the team’s second leading scorer in 2007 at 18.8 ppg — broke out in Game 1 with 33 points in the Bulls’ five-point win over Miami. I touched on the impact of this performance in Part 1, and unfortunately there isn’t a good highlight reel of this game online, so here is a compilation of Bulls highlights in the four-game sweep:
THEY SAID IT:
“This game was really big. Now that we have the lead, most of the time the team that loses has to adjust. We did a lot of things today that worked for us.” – Luol Deng
FORWARD – John Salmons, 2009 first round, Game 6 vs. Celtics (box score)
Bulls 128, Celtics 127 — Salmons: team-high 35 points on 59% shooting and five threes… played a game-high 60 of 63 minutes
Though everyone remembers Joakim Noah first and probably Derrick Rose second, the unsung, under appreciated Bulls hero of the classic triple overtime Game 6 win over the Celtics was John Salmons, who scored 16 points in the first quarter en route to a team-high 35. He was clutch late, too, with 14 points combined in the fourth quarter and the three overtimes. He’s one of seven Bulls since 1986 to hit at least five threes in a playoff game.
THEY SAID IT:
“As tired as I am, I won’t be able to sleep.” — John Salmons
CENTER – Joakim Noah, 2013 first round, Game 7 @ Nets (box score)
The greatest playoff game Joakim Noah ever played — and I’ll include his 2006 national championship game with Florida vs. UCLA. Noah played Game 7 in Brooklyn practically on one foot. It was one of those defining “he-would-not-let-his-team-lose” games.
THEY SAID IT:
“Noah, like I said, he’s a warrior. He battled through his injuries and just had a monster game. We really had no answers for him down low tonight.” — Deron Williams
“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.” — Joakim Noah
2nd TEAM
GUARD – Ben Gordon, 2009 first round, Game 2 @ Boston (box score)
Celtics 118, Bulls 115 — Gordon: 42 points on 58% shooting and six threes
Gordon’s most memorable moment of the series came two games later when he hit a game-tying three at the end of double overtime in Game 4 and proceeded to grab his junk, but his 42-point performance in Game 2 and the shootout with fellow former UConn guard Ray Allen was the best all-around game.
THEY SAID IT:
“It felt like we were at UConn in the summertime playing pickup. (Allen) is a great shooter and I knew he would break out eventually.” — Ben Gordon
GUARD – Derrick Rose, 2009 first round, Game 1 @ Boston (box score)
Doesn’t get much more electric than a 20-year-old rookie point guard leading a .500 club to an overtime Game 1 road win over the defending champs by scoring 36 points and tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s rookie playoff debut scoring record. No, no it doesn’t.
THEY SAID IT:
“(Rose is) poised beyond his years. He already carries himself like a veteran out there. He had a phenomenal game tonight, to say the least.” — Ben Gordon
“I hope this is a wake-up call. I hope we realize that the Bulls, they’re not just a team that’s happy to be in the playoffs. So hopefully the guys will wake up and realize this is reality. We’ve better come to play.” — Paul Pierce
FORWARD – Andres Nocioni, 2005 first round, Game 1 vs. Wizards (box score)
Bulls 103, Wizards 94 — Nocioni: 25 points and 18 rebounds in his playoffs debut
It wasn’t quite Rose’s 36-11, but Andres Nocioni’s 25-18 in his playoffs debut — while starting in place of the injured Deng — was brilliant. Unfortunately, I can’t find video. Fortunately, I wrote about it here.
THEY SAID IT:
“We played a great game, but it’s just one game. I need to forgot this game and think (about) the next game.” – Andres Nocioni
FORWARD – Jimmy Butler, 2013 first & second round, Game 6 vs. Nets, Game 7 @ Nets, Game 1 @ Heat (box scores)
Butler: three straight 48-minute games
I’m cheating a bit here and taking Jimmy Butler’s streak last year of three consecutive 48-minute playoffs games. He’s the only Bulls player since 1986 with such a streak, and he did it while defending Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and LeBron James.
THEY SAID IT:
“It’s all about being tough. We’re always going to be the underdogs and we take pride in that. Everybody can overlook us, but we feel like we’re good enough to hang with a lot of these teams.” — Jimmy Butler, following the Bulls’ Game 1 win over the Heat
CENTER – Joakim Noah, 2010 first round, Game 4 vs. Cavaliers (box score)
This performance was completely obscured by LeBron’s domination, but hot damn, gotta give love for Noah’s 21-20. It was — and is — only the third 20+ rebound game in a Bulls playoffs game since 1986.
THEY SAID IT:
“I just think we weren’t very tough mentally today. We were playing good ball and then just collapsed. We’re a young team and have to learn from this.” — Joakim Noah
3rd TEAM
GUARD – Ben Gordon, 2005 first round, Game 1 vs. Wizards (box score)
Bulls 103, Wizards 94 — Gordon: 30 points off the bench
Nocioni was the game’s star — the United Center crowd’s “No-ci-o-ni!” cheer was never louder — but Gordon was the team’s leading scorer. His 30 points were a Bulls playoff record for a reserve until Nate Robinson.
Since I can’t find footage from this game, here is Ben’s final playoff game as a Bull, which probably looked pretty similar to his first one:
GUARD – Derrick Rose, 2011 first round, Game 1 vs. Pacers (box score)
Rose kicked off the postseason of his MVP year with 39 points, including an 11-point 1st quarter. With the Pacers trying to play spoiler — they entered the 4th quarter up eight — Rose kept the Bulls in the hunt until he took over in the final two minutes: the Bulls closed out on a 10-0 run, Derrick scored 7 of the 10 and assisted Kyle Korver on a three-pointer that gave the Bulls a lead they never lost.
FORWARD – Luol Deng, 2007 second round, Game 4 vs. Pistons (box score)
With the Bulls in danger of being swept, Deng led an all-around Bulls effort with a game-high 25 points. No footage on youtube for this one, so here’s a different clip of Luol whipping Detroit this season:
FORWARD – Carlos Boozer, 2013 first round, Game 3 vs. Brooklyn (box score)
Boozer has been much maligned throughout his Bulls career, primarily as a result of his after-thought status as a 2010 free agent prize combined with his defensive unprowess and the U.C.’s love of his backup Taj Gibson. But Booz has his moments, among them in Game 3 of last year’s Nets series.
CENTER – Brad Miller, 2009 first round, Game 6 vs. Celtics (box score)
…Brad Miller was an efficient stud in Game 6: 23 points on 8 of 9 shooting, two of two from three, five of five from the line, 10 boards, two blocks.
We posted full Game 6 highlights in Part 1, so here’s Brad Miller hitting a key three in the 4th quarter:
HONORABLE MENTION
Kirk Hinrich, 2005 first round, Game 2 vs. Wizards (box score)
Bulls 113, Wizards 103 — Hinrich: 34 points on 80% shooting including 5 for 5 from three
Captain Kirk’s finest playoff hour was the team’s last win of their magical 2005 season. With the team up 12 in the 4th quarter, Hinrich scored eight straight points on two threes and a layup to give the Bulls a 20 point lead. When Gilbert Arenas (39 points) went on a run of his own to cut the lead to six, Hinrich hit a three and bagged two foul shots to give the Bulls their final needed breathing room.
Now footage to be found on Game 2, so here’s Kirk in Game 1:
Jannero Pargo, 2005 first round, Game 5 vs. Wizards (box score)
Wizards 112, Bulls 110 — Pargo: 9 points on three 3s in the final minute
Pargo nearly single-handedly pulled off an upset for the ages when he hit three 3s in the final minute of a furious Game 5 comeback — only to watch Gilbert Arenas drop the Bulls at the buzzer.
BEST OPPOSITION
GUARD – Ray Allen, 2009 first round, Game 6 (box score)
If not for his team’s loss, this 51-point game would be more highly regarded on Ray’s resume.
GUARD – Gilbert Arenas, 2005 first round, Game 5 (box score)
Arenas was better in Games 2 (39 points), 3 (32, 7 and 7) and 4 (23, 6 and 5), but his supreme confidence in his abilities led to one of the all-time most devastating postseason game-winners the Bulls have ever suffered.
BONUS GUARD – Rajon Rondo, 2009 first round — the whole series (stats)
Can’t pick just one game — Rondo was masterful in the entire series. He averaged a triple double until Game 7, and still finished close to one: 19.4 points (third on the team), 11.6 assists (first), 9.3 boards (second) plus 2.7 steals (first). Bagged triple doubles in Games 2 and 4. Also made the game-saving foul on Miller in Game 5 and set the tone against Rose.
FORWARD – LeBron James, 2010 First Round, Game 4 (box score)
Like Rondo in 2009, it’s tough to single out one game for LeBron in this 2010 series. He was scorching: 31.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists on shooting percentages of 56.7%, 54.2% and 72.0%. I’ll take his monstrous Game 4 though: 37 points, 12 boards, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 64.7% from the floor, 6 of 9 from three.
Since his Game 4 highlights are in Part 1, here are his Game 2 highlights. They’re, um, pretty good too:
FORWARD – LeBron James, 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5
For the second straight year, LeBron was the difference in a series vs. the Bulls. He was great throughout, but turned it up a notch in Game 5, particularly down the stretch, both offensively and defensively against Rose.
CENTER – Shaquille O’Neal, 2006 First Round, Game 6
As mentioned in Part 1, Shaq pulled out a Vintage Shaq game in Game 6, with 30 points on an array of unstoppable oops from Dwyane Wade. He also grabbed 20 boards. Go to sleep Bulls. Go to sleep.
***
BEST DUNKS
Not much to say on these… I’ll let the dunks do the talking.
GUARD – Derrick Rose, 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 4
GUARD – Derrick Rose, 2011 second round, Game 3
FORWARD – Taj Gibson, 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1
FORWARD – Tyrus Thomas, 2007 first round, Game 1
CENTER – Joakim Noah, 2009 first round, Game 6
***
LEADERS
Games Started
43 — Joakim Noah
42 — Luol Deng
34 — Carlos Boozer
31 — Kirk Hinrich
29 — Derrick Rose
24 — Ben Gordon
16 — Keith Bogans
12 — Andres Nocioni, Jimmy Butler
10 — P.J. Brown, Ben Wallace
7 — John Salmons, Tyrus Thomas
6 — Antonio Davis, Othella Harrington, Mike Sweetney, Malik Allen, Richard Hamilton
Ricky & Nillz preview the Bulls’ upcoming first round playoff series against the Wizards, including a look at key factors and match-ups. Listen to find out who we think has the edge between Michael Jordan’s former teams and whether Kirk Hinrich can avenge his 2005 playoff loss to Washington in honor of Andres Nocioni (no, seriously).
Oh my god… look who Nillz hooked up with (again)? Ricky O’Donnell is back for another week to celebrate the Bulls’ emotional win against Miami, revere another incredible Joakim Noah performance, gossip like high school girls about Carmelo Anthony, ridicule Neil Funk’s recent D-Rose speculation, and crown Taj Gibson as the 6th Man of the Year.
Iggy & Swaggy P are GQ‘s NBA “Coolest” couple as the fashion/style mag. has many a NBA feature for their upcoming issue. I peeped these photos and wanted to pass along the vibrant style these two sport respectively, especially on the heels (no pun intended) of Iggy Azalea’s tour and album art news earlier today. Plus, I’m not at all tired of the nickname, Swaggy P. From hollerin’ at Iggy on Twitter to GQ’s Coolest Couple of the NBA, ha. (Whoa there @ photo 3)
In one last NBA x GQ tidbit, here’s, as Trey Kerby masterfully puts it, “More from the Joakim Noah is the Best files.”
