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.

Meet Waliyy Dixon: The Main Event

Waliyy Dixon became famous for his amazing basketball skills. He is especially known for his time playing streetball. Streetball is a fun, less formal type of basketball. It is often played on outdoor courts. Waliyy's nickname, "Main Event," shows how exciting his games were.

Early Days on the Court

Waliyy spent his younger years playing basketball. He practiced a lot at his favorite court, 4th Ward Park, in his hometown. He went to Linden High School. After his senior year in 1992, he was chosen as an All-American by Street & Smith magazine.

Waliyy became the top scorer in his high school's history. He scored an amazing 1,760 points. He finished his high school career by winning the Reebok National Slam Dunk Contest. After high school, he decided to play college basketball in New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University. He played for two seasons, from 1992 to 1994.

Becoming a Streetball Star

In 1994, a special video tape was found. It showed the Entertainer's Basketball Classic at Harlem's famous Rucker Park. This tape became the AND1 Mix Tape Volume One. It helped make streetball popular across the country. The tape showed off the incredible moves of Waliyy Dixon. At that time, not many people knew about him.

The AND1 Mixtape Magic

In the summer of 1999, Waliyy met with people from AND1 Basketball. They talked about the streetball scene. Waliyy helped bring other streetball players to the AND1 family. He then worked with AND1 to host the first AND1 Mix Tape game. This game was held at his home court in Linden. More than 2,000 people came to watch. The game was filmed for Mix Tape Vol. 2.

After this, Waliyy and the other streetball players signed deals with AND1. Waliyy Dixon played for the AND1 Mix Tape Tour from 2001 to 2006. This tour traveled around, showing off amazing streetball moves.

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 how he could jump high. In the early 1990s, at Rucker Park, Waliyy did a 360-degree dunk. This means he spun all the way around in the air before dunking the ball. The crowd was amazed!

This incredible dunk earned him the name "The Main Event." He started to attract huge crowds to the Rucker Park games. Everyone wanted to see him play.

Playing in Other Leagues

Besides streetball, Waliyy Dixon also played professional basketball. He played in the United States Basketball League (USBL). He played for teams like the Atlantic City Seagulls and the Long Island Surf. He even spent some time training with the New Jersey Nets. This was before the 2004 and 2005 NBA seasons.

Life Beyond the Court

After his time with the AND1 Mix Tape Tour, Waliyy Dixon started new basketball projects.

Ball4Real Tour

He helped create a streetball tour called Ball4Real. This tour was similar to the AND1 tour. It started in 2007. However, it ended after about a year and a half. It stopped because it did not make enough money or get enough media attention.

Helping Youth with S.K.Y.

Waliyy 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. They also have community programs to help young people. Waliyy works with other streetball players in this organization. Some of them also used to play for AND1. He is currently the Vice President of Player Development. He works from his hometown of Linden, New Jersey.