Milwaukee Bucks star duo Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are among the faces of two rival sneaker brands, with Giannis on team Nike while Lillard is one of Adidas’ marquee athletes.
Despite the very public competitive rivalry between the brands, the Bucks duo seemed to create a bridge as Giannis excitedly received a pair of free Dame 9s despite them being Adidas shoes.
“Free shoes is free shoes my brother, I don’t care what you guys think. I appreciate you, man.”
Giannis is known to be frugal, rocking a lot of free clothes he’s gotten from Nike by virtue of being a signature athlete for them. He didn’t let his brand loyalty stop him from supporting his teammate, happily adding Lillard’s Adidas shoes to his collection.
Most players likely won’t care about brands specifically given these shoe brands can drop these players over the slightest of infractions. Giannis knows he’s in a position where Nike can’t drop him for something like this given his status as one of the NBA’s biggest superstars and one of Nike’s premier athletes.
He has his own signature line, the ‘Zoom Freak’ shoes which also have annual releases.
Out of all the sneaker brands offering players contracts, Nike and Adidas are easily the two biggest, with Nike subsidiary Jordan Brand also having a deep reach into signature athletes in basketball.
Nike is arguably the biggest name in basketball apparel, boasting signature athletes like Giannis, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Victor Wembanyama, Tyrese Haliburton, and many more.
Adidas has some heavy hitters to their name as well, with Lillard complemented by star guards James Harden, Anthony Edwards, and Donovan Mitchell among their signature lineup. They had Trae Young in their lineup until very recently.
Jordan Brand seems to have a youth movement going on, with their biggest athletes being Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, complemented by young stars like Paolo Banchero, Zion Williamson, and the recently signed Trae Young.
There are hundreds of brands hounding players for signature sneakers, with some other high-profile names linked with smaller brands. Stephen Curry and De’Aaron Fox are part of Under Armour while Joel Embiid and Julius Randle are a part of the Skechers family. Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson are ANTA athletes, as players across the NBA have their own unique affiliations.
Over the summer, there were multiple debates over the impact of sneaker sponsorships on the selection of Team USA, with many claiming players like Trae and Jaylen Brown were snubbed due to their lack of association with Nike, USAB’s official sponsor.
Hopefully what Giannis did leads to more players openly being friendly about sneakers with athletes from other brands. He’s looking like one of the best players in the NBA this season, averaging 32.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.4 assists. Co-star Lillard is holding his own as well, averaging 25.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists.
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