Key Takeaways
- Taurian Fontenette, the AND1 streetball legend known as “Air Up There” and “Mr. 720,” died at 43, his sister confirmed November 3; the family has not announced a cause of death.
- Fontenette made streetball history with the first widely documented 720-degree dunk during a 2006 AND1 Mixtape Tour game at Houston’s Toyota Center.
- His influence stretched beyond that viral moment: his 360-degree, between-the-legs “Axle-Rider” helped shape modern dunking, and Team Flight Brothers founder Chuck Millan called him “one of the godfathers of the professional dunk movement.”
Taurian Fontenette, the Houston-area streetball legend whose gravity-defying dunks helped define the AND1 era, died at age 43. Fontenette, better known to basketball fans as “Air Up There” and “Mr. 720,” became an international sensation after completing the first widely documented 720-degree dunk during a 2006 AND1 Mixtape Tour game at Houston’s Toyota Center.
According to The Houston Chronicle, his sister, Tracie Sonnier, confirmed his death in a Facebook post on Tuesday, November 3. A cause of death has not been announced.
Fontenette’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from former teammates, professional dunkers and fans who watched him turn streetball into spectacle during the 2000s. “Last night we lost a huge part of our family, of our community,” his sister wrote. “My heart is broken in a million pieces.”
She asked supporters to give the family time to process a loss she said they may never fully understand.
Long before the 720 made SportsCenter, Fontenette was a 6-foot-2 guard from Hitchcock, Texas, who built his reputation by playing far above the rim. He starred at Hitchcock High School before attending UTEP, Richland Junior College and Paul Quinn College.
His path to AND1 began while he was working security at a chemical plant: Fontenette reportedly requested a day off to attend a tryout, earned the chance to compete against AND1’s established stars, and dunked his way onto the roster in 2005.
The defining moment arrived one year later in his hometown market. Fontenette launched himself toward the basket, completed two full rotations in the air, and finished the dunk as the Toyota Center crowd erupted.
The clip spread across television and the early internet, earning him the “Mr. 720” nickname and a permanent place in streetball history. Team Flight Brothers founder Chuck Millan called Fontenette “arguably the greatest dunker to ever live” and “one of the godfathers of the professional dunk movement.”
Yet Fontenette’s influence extended beyond one viral highlight. His “Axle-Rider”—a 360-degree, between-the-legs dunk—helped establish a move later seen in NBA dunk contests and highlights from players including Jason Richardson, Paul George, and Dennis Smith Jr.
He remained with the AND1 Mixtape Tour through 2006, later joined the Ball4Real Tour, and played professionally for the American Basketball Association’s Dallas Generals in 2009.
