Waliyy Dixon facts for kids

Waliyy Dixon (born February 27, 1974) is an American professional basketball player. He is widely known by his exciting streetball nickname, "Main Event." Waliyy grew up in Linden, New Jersey.

Early Life and High School Success

Waliyy Dixon spent his younger years practicing his streetball moves. He often played at his favorite local court, 4th Ward Park. He went to Linden High School. After his senior year in 1991–92, he was named an All-American by Street & Smith.

Waliyy finished his high school career as Linden High's all-time leading scorer. He scored an amazing 1,760 points! He also won the Reebok National Slam Dunk Contest. After high school, he decided to stay in New Jersey for college. He played basketball at Rutgers University. While he was a star in high school, his college career was not as long. He played for two seasons, from 1992 to 1994.

Professional Basketball Journey

Joining the AND1 Mixtape Tour

In 1994, a special video tape was found by two partners from AND1 Basketball. This tape showed amazing streetball moves from the Entertainer's Basketball Classic at Harlem's famous Rucker Park. The video became the AND1 Mix Tape Volume One. It helped make streetball famous across the country. The tape also showed off the incredible skills of a player named Waliyy Dixon.

In the summer of 1999, Waliyy met with people from AND1. He talked about the streetball world. He helped bring other talented streetball players to the AND1 team. Later that summer, he worked with AND1 to host the first AND1 Mix Tape game. It was held at his home court in Linden. More than 2,000 people came to St. Mark's Park to watch. This event was filmed for Mix Tape Vol. 2. Waliyy and the other streetball players then signed endorsement deals that fall. Waliyy Dixon played for the AND1 Mix Tape Tour from 2001 to 2006.

How "Main Event" Got His Name

When Waliyy was in high school, people in his area called him "The Coming Attraction." This was because of his amazing skills and high-flying dunks. In the early 1990s, at Rucker Park, Waliyy did a 360-degree dunk. The crowd was absolutely stunned! This incredible move earned him the nickname "The Main Event." People started coming in huge numbers to Rucker games just to watch him play.

Other Professional Teams

Waliyy Dixon also played professionally in the United States Basketball League (USBL). He played for the Atlantic City Seagulls and the Long Island Surf. He even spent some time practicing with the New Jersey Nets. This was before the 2004 and 2005 NBA seasons.

Life After AND1

Ball4Real Tour

After his time with the AND1 Mix Tape Tour, Waliyy Dixon started new basketball projects. He helped create Ball4Real. This was a streetball tour that was similar to AND1. Waliyy and several other former AND1 players started it in 2007. However, it did not last long. After less than a year and a half, the tour ended. It didn't make enough money or get much attention.

S.K.Y. Streetball Syndicate

Waliyy Dixon is also a co-founder of an organization called S.K.Y. Streetball Syndicate. S.K.Y. stands for Serving Knowledge to Youth. This group focuses on special basketball tours and community programs. These programs help young people. Waliyy works with other streetball players, some of whom also toured for AND1. He is currently the Vice President of Player Development for the organization. He works from his hometown of Linden, New Jersey.