NO ORDINARY RIM SHOT

La Salle Thompson &Henry Turner with a GP20 wheel (Derrick Lim photos)

Big Baller Wheels and T&T Motorsports

NO ORDINARY RIM SHOT By DERRICK LIM

When professional basketball players La Salle Thompson (1985-89) and Henry Turner (1989-94) played for the Sacramento Kings, throwing down on the rim was the ultimate expression of an athlete's personality on the court.  Now off the court, the two players remain in Sacramento to indulge in another arena of individual expression - the car enthusiast's world of car customization. 

According to SEMA (the Specialty Equipment Market Association), car customization topped $29 billion in 2003.  Thompson and Turner are capitalizing on this largesse with Big Baller Wheels on the web and T&T Motorsports on the street in the new City of Citrus Heights just on the outskirts of Sacramento.   Minnesota Timberwolves Latrell Sprewell entered the limitless market of car customization in 1998 in Los Angeles when he founded Sprewell Racing at the former site of Dazz Motorsports in San Gabriel.  Sprewell Racing specializes in high performance tires and wheels.

T&T's focus is designer wheels, including the likes of their own brand Big Baller Wheels, the Axion Jackson, and the GP20.  Thompson and Turner's connection to multi million dollar professional athletes and their penchant for customizing their very expensive cars paid big dividends with signature wheels by Sacramento Kings Bobby Jackson (Axion Jackson) and Los Angeles Lakers Gary Payton (GP20).  Both custom wheels start at 20" and incrementally increase to a 26" maximum.  Now, if your platinum plastic and passion for car customization has no limits, Thompson and Turner can also hook you up with nearly all other aspects of car customization (e.g., body work, audio visual systems, suspension, and upholstery).  T&T's company car is a customized Hummer H2 with 26" Big Baller Wheels and $125,000 of added personality.    

The next time you go to the rack on the court or in the showroom to throw down some rim, check out T&T Motorsports and Big Baller Wheels to put some cross town attitude on your car or truck. 

Henry Turner and La Salle Thompson