Tonight, the best young basketball players in the world will walk across that stage after having their names called in the 2019 NBA Draft. Whether it be the “one-and-dones,” overseas prospects, 3-4 year college players, or prep school prodigy – each player in the draft pool has their eyes set on this night and what their future holds. With great talent in such young male athletes, comes great marketability. Top dog brands like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour are vying to sign the next big face of the league. Resurgent brands to the likes of New Balance, Puma, and And1 are trying their hand to convince 19-21 year-olds to go against the mold. Overseas companies like Anta, Li-Ning and PEAK will most likely pitch these future NBA players of how much focus will be on them within their brand opposed to if they signed with a bigger company.
Most NBA rookies will sign some sort of sneaker/apparel endorsement deal, with the lottery picks having more extensive contracts and more guaranteed money. With that being said though, just how long will these newly acquired NBA players last with their respective brands? These initial contracts can be somewhat short in length and once the bright lights wear off and a young 20 year-old realizes he’s stuck wearing Reebok ZigTechs every year, a change will soon be desired. Yes the money from smaller brands can be great, but then you come to the realization that you can’t wear Kobes, Lebrons, Hardens, Jordans, KD’s, PG’s, etc. anymore. We take a look back at some notable draft picks from years past who signed head scratching sneaker endorsement deals right out of the gate and then eventually jumped ship.
JOHN WALL – Drafted (2010) – Signed with Reebok (2010-2013) – Currently signed with Adidas
If there’s a player who’s had quite the rollercoaster of sneaker endorsement stops, it’s John Wall. Wall was quick to sign with Reebok immediately after declaring for the NBA Draft back in 2010. He even wore his first signature sneaker with them during the summer league. This was an interesting move considering Reebok had little to no stake with players choosing to wear their product when it came to basketball. Reebok must’ve paid Wall a pretty penny to sway him away from the likes of Nike and Adidas (at the time). Wall left Reebok in 2013 and joined Adidas (who has owned the Reebok brand since 2005). However, when Wall’s contract with Adidas expired on September 30th, 2015 he opted to test the waters for wearing other brand’s shoes. Wall was initially seen wearing Kobe’s with tape over the swoosh due to his lingering contractual obligations to the Three Stripes. Then when he was officially a sneaker free agent he would be seen wearing Jordan retros, multiple Kobe models, and PG’s. John Wall has since re-joined the Adidas brand and said he’s looking forward to a “fresh start.”
DWAYNE WADE – Drafted (2003) – Signed with Converse (2003-2009) – Currently signed with Li-Ning
Dwayne Wade entered the league in 2003 and unlike his notable counterparts Lebron James (Nike) and Carmelo Anthony (Team Jordan), Wade opted to sign with Converse and be the face of that brand’s basketball division. He had six signature sneakers with Converse from 2003-2009 but then signed with The Jordan Brand in the summer of 2009. He would go onto have two signature shoes with the Jumpman but then left in 2012 to join Chinese company Li-Ning. Wade has been with Li-Ning ever since and has had many iterations of signature shoes with them.
STEPH CURRY – Drafted (2009) – Signed with Nike (2009-2013) – Currently signed with Under Armour
No one thought Steph Curry would blow up to become the player he is now, including Nike. Back in ’13 when Nike was pitching to re-sign Curry they just didn’t do a stand-up job and simply dropped the ball. They weren’t treating Curry like how they treated Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. When Curry met with Under Armour he, and his father, could tell they genuinely wanted him to be a part of their brand and would represent him in a combined effort to gravitate towards his fans. Steph never had a signature shoe with Nike, just P.E. versions of the Hyperdunk, Hyperfuse, Hyperize, etc., but since then Curry has had six signature shoes with UA including off-court spinoffs as well.
NERLENS NOEL – Drafted (2013) – Signed with Reebok (2013-2014) – Currently a sneaker free agent (wears Nikes)
Reebok must have all of these young draft prospect’s phone numbers on speed dial because they seem to get a lot of the new stars in the league (used to). Unfortunately for RBK, their partnerships with these newly acquired NBA players never seem to last long anymore. Gone are the days of Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Dee Brown, and Dominique Wilkins – back when Reebok won over consumers within the basketball market. Nerlens Noel was highly touted out of high school and after his one year at Kentucky was a lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. He was supposed to be a part of the effort to “rejuvenate” the Reebok basketball line, along with Isaiah Thomas and Jason Terry. Trying to make Reebok basketball footwear relevant again was always making new versions of old Iverson’s (the Questions) or making an “updated” version of their pump technology (seen above), and this never equated to success in the market.
So where will this year’s top NBA picks end up in sneaker free agency? How long will these players stay with the brands that they initially sign with? Lebron James’ lifetime deal with Nike is basically an anomaly at this point. Although it may seem like Kobe Bryant has been with the Swoosh for life, even he was signed with Adidas for a hot minute during his first few years in the league. Ja Morant, projected second overall pick, made the first move out of 2019’s prospects by signing with Nike. Will Zion follow suit and choose the “Check” over rivals Adidas and Under Armour? Does it come down to just the money with these young stars? – as was probably the case for a few of the athletes above like Wall and Noel. This 2019 NBA Draft class will surely shake up the world of sneaker endorsements.
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