This is something that’s been on my mind since the beginning of the week.
I know the title for this article is a bit clunky, but bear with me.
What if we created a Team Nike, a Team Adidas et cetera, teams that consisted of NBA players that are signed to those brands and wear those sneakers on court?
I started to think about this, and ran my eyes across the 16 NBA playoff teams remaining in the Orlando bubble. Because of this — basing the majority of the team members off teams still alive in the NBA restart — the members of the teams will be heavily skewed towards valuing winning players, and that being a priority over big numbers or traditional counting statistics (those being points, rebounds, assists etc.)
Having said that, many of the players that will make up these teams make significant statistical contributions to their ball clubs — players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden & Luka Donćič all put up statistical lines the which the league has never seen before.
The final thing I wanted to mention before diving into the selections made for these teams is that I was hoping to put teams together that would mesh, have some chemistry and have guys that would fill a role, if required — and not necessarily be the team’s go-to guy or star player. The general through-line for these teams is that if we put them together and dropped them in a series against a playoff team tomorrow, would they be able to figure things out in a hurry and compete from the jump. So while in some respects, they look like All-Star teams, I wasn’t necessarily trying to put together just a team of All-Stars (make sense? Totally does, right?)
So with those caveats out of the way and all that being said, let’s dive into the teams for this fictional sneaker brand tournament.
Team Nike
10-man rotation
G: LeBron James / G: Ja Morant
G: Khris Middleton / G: Devin Booker
F: Pascal Siakam / F: Ben Simmons
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo / F: Anthony Davis
C: Nikola Jokic / C: Bam Adebayo
Players 11-15
G Dennis Schröeder, G Paul George, F TJ Warren, F Tobias Harris, C Rudy Gobert
Currently injured*
G Kyrie Irving, F Kevin Durant
Coaching staff
Head Coach: Dirk Nowitzki
Assistant Coaches: Steve Nash, Pau Gasol
When I first started this thought exercise and planning this project, my assumption was that obviously Nike would run away with this. And at full strength, maybe they still do. I mean, 68.3% of the league’s players are signed with Nike Basketball, according to Baller Shoes Database. Moreover, they have by far the most signature sneaker athletes of any brand; many of those players are generational talents (KD & Giannis), or even players that elevated themselves into the conversation as the greatest player of all time (Kobe & LeBron).
The thing with Team Nike that became evident very quickly, however, was a lack of guards — predominantly point guards. Sure, LeBron James is a preternatural passer that led the league in Assists Per Game for the first time in his career at age 35; Ben Simmons is a menace in transition at finding three-point shooters on the wing or throwing up lobs for fast-break dunks; and Devin Booker has excelled with a far greater ball-handling role & responsibility than would have been anticipated for him coming out of Kentucky. In the end though, I went with Nikola Jokic at centre for this team, as he may be the most true point-guard and best passer out of anyone in the starting line-up, even at 7-foot tall.
The thought of Jokic setting up teammates with this level of talent was enough for me to select him as the starting centre for Team Nike, over someone like Rudy Gobert who could anchor the defence. Besides, Team Nike has DPOtY Giannis starting at F next to Jokic who can anchor the defence with the starting group, with DPOtY runner-up Anthony Davis coming off the bench to anchor the second unit. You also have Bam Adebayo and Ben Simmons on the bench, two of the leagues most versatile and impactful defenders.
Circling back to a lack of point guards for Team Nike — it seems that many lead guards get the opportunity to endorse another sneaker brand and become a signature athlete there. With Kyrie Irving unavailable, I opted to include Ja Morant in the Team Nike squad as a way to check smaller, speedier guards on opposing teams. Sure Morant isn’t setting the world on fire with his defence, but at least he tries and gives effort on that end. The only other PG-sized player on the extended squad is Dennis Schröeder, a likely candidate to win the NBA 6MOtY award. But even he isn’t a true PG, having a scorers mentality first before looking to set up teammates.
In fact, aside from Jokic, it may be LeBron who is the best playmaker on this squad. He essentially played point guard for the Lakers this season, hence the aforementioned league-lead in assists. It’s a lot to expect LeBron to check opposing guards on the defensive end every possession, also why I included Morant on this squad.
Not to be overlooked is Ben Simmons, who is also nominally a point guard in Philadelphia, but who I’ve listed as a forward primarily because your position isn’t necessarily the role you play on the offensive end, but what players you’re capable of checking on the defensive end. Yes, Simmons might be versatile, and is very capable of locking down the opposing team’s best scorer, even if that’s a diminutive point guard. But league observers and analysts would suggest Simmons is best at checking wings and forwards, rather than water-bug guards.
We’ve made it this far, and barely spoken about Giannis. Not much needs to be said, though — he will quickly find a role on this team as a huge threat in transition, a defensive anchor and an opportunistic cutter on offence playing with Jokic.
Pascal Siakam and Khris Middleton round out the starting-five for Team Nike; two guys who are, or have been, second-bananas to elite level talents, are two-way players, can step up and make plays or run pick-and-roll if required, and can spot up and make open shots.
Devin Booker and Anthony Davis provide some spacing for this squad — neither are elite three-point shooters, more-so mid-range assassins. I thought Bam Adebayo fit well as a back-up centre for this squad as a jack-of-all-trades player, capable of running dribble hand-offs and scoring in the post on offence, while being able to check both bigs and smalls and switch on defence.
The coaches for this team were challenging too. The clear, no-brainer choice would have and should have been Kobe Bryant, but after this year’s tragic accident, he is no longer here to lead this squad. I ended up selecting Dirk Nowitzki as the coach of this team, as he was someone that came to mind who always wore Nike, won an MVP and a championship, and as someone who stayed with the one team for his whole career, would hold a lot of clout with a squad like this.
I went with Steve Nash and Pau Gasol to assist him — both are also Nike guys, and Nash is a 2x MVP and has some experience with consultancy and player development with the Golden State Warriors; he is also an advisor to the Canadian Men’s National Team. Furthermore, given his history & relationship with Dirk, i thought this was a good fit. My mind went to Pau as he was so close with Kobe and won the ’09 & ’10 titles with him, I though he would be willing to step in to a coaching role with team Nike given Kobe’s saddening absence.
Team Adidas
10-man rotation
G: Damian Lillard / G: Trae Young
G: Donovan Mitchell / G: Kyle Lowry
F: James Harden / F: Brandon Ingram
F: Jaylen Brown / F: Danilo Gallinari
C: Kristaps Porzingis / C: Ivica Zubac
Players 11-15
G Patrick Beverley, G Jamal Murray, G Eric Gordon, C Steven Adams, C Serge Ibaka
Currently injured*
F: Bojan Bogdanovic
Coaching staff
Head Coach: Tim Duncan
Assistant Coaches: Chauncey Billups, Tracy McGrady
Ah, so we’ve found where all the guards went!
Adidas has a number of exceptional guards representing them, many as signature athletes, with the likes of James Harden, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Kyle Lowry and Trae Young. Not to mention Pat Beverley and Jamal Murray! However, Team Adidas lacks wing depth and/or traditional PF-sized guys. This pushes guys like Harden and Jaylen Brown up the positional spectrum, playing somewhat out of position as the SF & PF respectively.
This team is somewhat light on defence in the staring group, although you could swap out Lowry for Mitchell if you wanted to get more defence on the floor to start out. However, Brown and Porzingis are plus defenders at their position, Harden is no longer a total zero on that end of the floor, and Lillard competes hard at least (and has seen a far greater percentage of his defensive possessions guarding the opposition team’s “best player” during the NBA bubble). Heck, Donovan Mitchell profiled as a defensive role-player in the NBA coming out of Louisville, and perhaps being on a squad like this spoiled for offensive talent, threats and firepower, would allow Mitchell to focus more on that defensive potential.
There’s not too much to say about the starting group — Dame and Harden are studs, while KP’s performances for Dallas in the first round against the LA Clippers have been exceptional when he’s been able to be on the floor, leading a Luka-less unit including Dorian Finney-Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr, Seth Curry and Trey Burke to a plus-90.9 net rating in the minutes they’ve played together in the series (oRtg 168.2, dRtg 77.3 — yes, small sample size theatre).
As far as the bench goes, I had to include Trae Young even though his team is one of the worst in the NBA. His other-worldly shot-making from behind the three-point line (behind only Adidas brand-mate Damian Lillard, and 2x MVP Steph Curry), along with his uncanny scoring ability out of the pick-and-roll, made Trae a must-have inclusion to this Adidas squad. Brandon Ingram also had to be included, as a player who really grew into himself in New Orleans after the trade that shipped him out of L.A. Ingram increased his scoring by almost 6 points per game while playing the same amount of minutes (33.8 versus 33.9), and only making 1 more made FG per game (7 versus 8.2). So what precipitated this dramatic increase in scoring? Well, Ingram went from shooting 1.8 threes per game at 33% to shooting 6.2 threes per game at 39%. Moreover, his FT attempts per game increased marginally (5.6 to 5.9), but the percentage jumped to 85% from just 67.5% the season prior. All this led to an offensive rating of 112 (up from 104), a True Shooting Percentage of 58.7% (up from 55.5%) and a Offensive Box Plus Minus of 2.5 (up from -1.3). Apologies if I’ve just shoehorned my case for Brandon Ingram as Most Improved Player in here!
The last two players in the rotation are foreign-born players, Danilo Gallinari and Ivica Zubac. Gallinari has contributed to winning ever since he was traded from the Knicks in the deal for Carmelo Anthony, and has been a part of playoff teams in Denver, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City since then. He’s struggled with injury at times, but is a modern forward who can shoot from three and get to the free throw line, while being able to operate off the ball and also in an isolation if required. I’ve been impressed with Zubac during the NBA restart and his ability to protect the rim and help anchor the Clippers defence while Montrezl Harrell gets back up to speed after his absence from Orlando for his grandmother’s funeral. Zubac is also an opportunistic offensive player who can operate in the pick-and-roll, able to catch lobs and finish (maybe not with thunderous dunks like some traditional lob finishers), and gets on the glass for o-boards and put-backs. I think he’d be a better big man option for this team than Steven Adams (has had more of the offence run through him at the elbow this year; I think Zubac is better in the pick-and-roll at this point) and Serge Ibaka, who doesn’t quite bring either the defensive versatility of Zubac or the floor spacing of Porzingis at this point.
The coaches for this team were much easier. All lifelong Adidas athletes, with Tracy McGrady even having a signature sneaker that is still worn today in both it’s original and updated “Millennium” iteration, Tim Duncan is the San Antonio Spurs assistant coach, even getting the opportunity as head coach on a couple of occasions. Meanwhile, McGrady and Chauncey Billups have both moved into analyst roles since they’re playing careers ended, McGrady with ESPN, while Billups is involved with local TV coverage for the L.A. Clippers.
Team Jordan Brand
10-man rotation
G: Kemba Walker / G: Mike Conley
G: Russell Westbrook / G: Chris Paul
F: Luka Donćič / F: Victor Oladipo
F: Jayson Tatum / F: Rui Hachimura
C: LaMarcus Aldridge / C: Zion Williamson
Players 11-15
G Devonte’ Graham, G Tim Hardaway Jr, F Carmelo Anthony, F Jeff Green, C Cody Zeller
Currently injured*
F Blake Griffin
Coaching staff
Head Coach: Vin Baker
Assistant Coaches: Michael Finley, Ray Allen
There are also a number of guards on the Jordan Brand roster of NBA players, including premier NBA point guards Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley and Kemba Walker — even Luka Donćič, if you consider him a point guard!
Jordan Brand do actually have players at various positions available, despite their condensed roster compared to the big-hitters in Nike and Adidas. Somewhat ironically, the position at which they’re most shallow is at shooting guard — with Victor Oladipo (sliding up a position to SF in this starting line-up) and Tim Hardaway Jr (also slides to SF in the actual Dallas Mavericks starting line-up) as the only two players I’d consider “true” shooting guards.
For this squad, with the starting line-up, I figured Luka would have the ball in his hands a lot, which is why I tried to surround him with complimentary (but still elite) talent. Players like Kemba, Tatum and LaMarcus function extremely well within and offence and have skills that lend themselves to work off the ball, while due to some of his decision-making, Westbrook is certainly someone who can be unlocked if you can get him off the ball where possible (see: the 2020 Houston Rockets).
This is a good time to transition to Chris Paul off the bench. Given CP’s predilection for running a team’s offence, I thought having him with the second-unit suited what this team needed. I have some reservations about Conley’s and Oladipo’s fit with Chris Paul, but for dependent offensive players like Zion and Rui, having a playmaker like Paul is exactly what they need to thrive. We did see Conley struggle at times with a secondary role next to a primary creator this season sharing the backcourt with Donovan Mitchell, while Oladipo hijacked the Indiana offence at times in Orlando from superior offensive players Malcolm Brogdon and TJ Warren.
For the coaches, I selected a couple of players that were part of the original “Team Jordan” when the brand was established in 1997. Along with Los Angeles Lakers G Eddie Jones and Cleveland Cavaliers G/F Derek Anderson, the three other players were G Ray Allen and Vin Baker of the Milwaukee Bucks, and G/F Michael Finley of the Dallas Mavericks. Vin Baker currently serves as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, while Michael Finley holds a front office position with the Dallas Mavericks. Both of them seemed like natural fits on the Jordan Brand coaching staff, while consider Ray Allen the shooting consultant for this squad.
Under Armour
10-man rotation
G: Steph Curry / G: Patty Mills
G: Seth Curry / G: Kent Bazemore
F: Will Barton / F: Terrance Ferguson
F: Anthony Tolliver / F: Wes Iwundu
C: Joel Embiid / C: Mo Bamba
Coaching staff
Head Coach: Dell Curry
Assistant Coach: Brandon Jennings, Dwayne Johnson
Under Armour probably has the smallest roster of players to choose from out of the remaining brands, but still has the highest amount of top NBA talent by far of the other brands after Nike/Jordan & Adidas, boasting Steph Curry and Joel Embiid as signature athletes.
This squad has a good mix of NBA All-Stars, solid veteran contributors and intriguing young players. Seth Curry is currently experiencing huge success for the Dallas Mavericks playing alongside Luka Donćič as a deadly spot-up shooter and secondary ball-handler in their first-round playoff matchup, while he was fantastic for the Portland Trailblazers as part of a three-guard line-up alongside Dame and CJ as they made their run to the Western Conference Finals, promptly been ousted by his brother’s Golden State Warriors.
Will Barton experienced arguably his best season as a pro for the Denver Nuggets this season, and they are sorely missing his perimeter defence during their first-round series against the Utah Jazz. As the starting small forward alongside Gary Harris at G and Paul Millsap at the other F position, Barton, Harris and Millsap help cover for the defensive limitations of their star offensive players Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Anthony Tolliver is a long-time NBA journeyman who made his way up from being un-drafted and through the G-League to become one of the NBA’s contemporary success stories. He is still finding a role at 35 years of age for teams that want some capable three-point shooting and gritty veteran savvy defence on opposing forwards. I feel like with the spacing he provides in the starting line-up along with the Curry brothers and Will Barton, Embiid will have tremendous room to feast in the post on the low block.
The Under Armour bench is solid, if not spectacular. Patty Mills is a long-time backup NBA guard, able to hit threes and get hot in a hurry. Kent Bazemore made a name for himself on the defensive end, while working his way into being a solid three-point shooter and someone that could score if required. After a disappointing half-season for Portland in 2019/20 for a team desperate for competent wing play, he bounced back in Sacramento after being swapped for Trevor Ariza. Terrance Ferguson is a long-time Thunder 3-and-D wing (who’s 3 waxes and wanes) with tremendous athleticism. Wes Iwundu is probably slightly out of position at the big forward spot, but he is stout and was a part of Orlando’s competitiveness as they played short-handed in their first round series against Milwaukee. Iwundu’s teammate Mo Bamba improved greatly in his second NBA season as the back-up to Nikola Vucevic, but had the end of his season derailed due to COVID-19.
As far as coaches go, given Under Armour is a relatively new brand (established 1996) and that they’re an even newer part of the NBA market, there wasn’t many people to select from to coach this squad. In the end, I went for Dell Curry, despite having no real affiliation with the brand per se, he would relish the opportunity to coach his two sons together. Brandon Jennings was the “original” Under Armour NBA athlete; at least, the highest profile one they had signed at the time, so I thought his experience both in the NBA and from overseas would be valuable to have on the bench. And then I had to include The Rock — he can look after strength and conditioning? Either way, he’s perhaps up there with Stephen Curry as the most famous person in the world to endorse Under Armour, so I only thought it right to include him somewhere.
Team Puma
10-man rotation
G: Terry Rozier / G: Kendrick Nunn
G: Marcus Smart / G: Danny Green
F: RJ Barrett / F: Kevin Porter Jr
F: Kyle Kuzma / F: Michael Porter Jr
C: DeAndre Ayton / C: Derrick Jones Jr
Players 11-15
G Sterling Brown, G Zhaire Smith, F Kevin Knox, F Rudy Gay, F DeMarcus Cousins
Currently injured*
F: Marvin Bagley
Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Isiah Thomas
Assistant Coaches: Vince Carter, Jay-Z
Despite only re-entering the performance sneaker market two years ago (in 2018) and signing its first NBA players in 17 years from the 2018 NBA Draft — signing top prospects DeAndre Ayton & Marvin Bagely III, who went first and second in the draft respectively, while adding Michael Porter Jr, who was the last pick of the lottery at 14, but only fell due to his back injury. MPJ was the top-ranked prospect of this draft coming out of high school, and many projected him as an eventual number 1 overall draft pick to the NBA. Puma would then add veteran NBA players such as Danny Green and Rudy Gay, while also recruiting young established talent such as Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart. Later, Puma would sign their most popular player — Lakers F Kyle Kuzma.
In terms of the team I’ve been able to put together for Puma, I actually think it’s reasonably competitive despite how recently Puma started selling modern performance basketball footwear.
The backcourt is made up of former teammates Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart, and I think this pairing works well as Marcus Smart can handle the ball on offence and allow Rozier to work off the ball to find scoring opportunities, while Smart can check bigger guards at the other end on defence. RJ Barrett also offers some tertiary playmaking from the wing, as a bigger player that can play at both guard or forward, a multi-skilled athlete that is prototypical for the current position-less NBA.
Up front we have DeAndre Ayton, who has shown significant and tremendous defensive improvement from his rookie to his sophomore season, and who helped lead his team alongside Devin Booker to an 8-0 end to the regular season in the Orlando bubble. Rounding out the starting group is Kyle Kuzma, who should thrive in this role surrounded by players that can defend and are deferential. I imagine Kuzma assuming a go-to scoring role on this team, and with more offensive responsibility, he could flourish on this squad.
Off the bench we have a mix of youth and experience, of defence and athleticism. Kendrick Nunn and Danny Green should be able to pick up where Rozier and Smart left off, respectively, both suited to fill the same roles their starting counterparts do. The front line of juniors, Porters and Jones, offer slashing, shooting and defence respectively, while all being young and possessing superior athleticism. I really quite like this squad actually.
Unfortunately, the coaching for this Puma team lets them down a bit. I went with Isiah Thomas for the coach of the team, as someone who has both worn Pumas and head coached in the NBA. Thomas’ career coaching record across the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks & Florida International University is 213 wins and 288 losses (.425), much of the damage done in the two seasons he coached the Knicks with the roster he had previously assembled in his front office role (New York was 56-108 (.341) across those two seasons). Thomas was actually 131-115 (.533) in his three seasons coaching the Pacers, while his three-year FIU stint resulted in a 26-65 (.319) record.
I also am not sure how this team would fare with Vince Carter on the sidelines. The most notable recent NBA veteran to retire, Carter was also the last big-name star to be signed with Puma before 2018. However, Carter broke his contract with Puma and instead went over to Nike, and is perhaps most famous for wearing Nike (or even AND1, as the sneaker he performed in during the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest). Puma won an arbitration against Carter for approximately $13.5m in damages for breaking his contract. However, if he were willing to be a part of it, I believe his experience to be invaluable to a squad like this, and he has demonstrated by the stops he’s made in the back half of his career that he prioritises mentoring young players and helping player development, and that he would be well suited to an assistant coach role.
Jay-Z is here as a “curator of vibes” for Puma Basketball – I think his official title is Creative Director – and if The Rock can be an AC for Team Under Armour, then Jay-Z is here for Team Puma.
Team China – Chinese sneaker brands Li-Ning/Way of Wade, Anta, Peak, 361°, Xtep
10-man rotation
G: De’Angelo Russell (Way of Wade)/ G: Rajon Rondo (Anta)
G: CJ McCollum (Li-Ning) / G: Lou Williams (Peak)
F: Klay Thompson (Anta) / F: Michael Carter-Williams (Li-Ning)
F: Gordon Hayward (Anta) / F: Evan Turner (Li-Ning)
C: Aaron Gordon (361°) / C: Kevon Looney (Anta)
Players 11-15
G Jacob Evans III (Anta), G Frank Mason III (Li-Ning), G Matthew Dellavedova (Peak), G Jeremy Lin (Xtep), G Jimmer Fredette (361°)
Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Dwyane Wade (Way of Wade)
Assistant Coaches: Tony Parker (Peak), Kevin Garnett (Anta)
This squad was the last one I came up with, as I thought that this fictional tournament or competition should have an even number of teams, and I thought it was only right that there are some of the NBA’s premier players that are endorsing athletic and footwear companies from China that should be included. None of these brands could make up a 10-man rotation on their own, but together they form a fairly interesting and unorthodox team.
I had also run out of brands that could boast any more than three or so players endorsing their product and representing them on the hardwood. There are a number of other brands represented in the NBA other than the 9 brands we’ve covered in this article – New Balance (Kawhi Leonard, Dejounté Murray & Darius Bazely), Converse (Kelly Oubre Jr, Draymond Green & Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Reebok (Montrezl Harrell, Josh Richardson & Trey Burke), AND1 (Fred VanVleet, Terence Davis & Jevon Carter), Fila (DJ Augustin), Q4 Sports (Langston Galloway) and K8IROS (Spencer Dinwiddie) are brands that have players signed that did not appear in this article.
Back to Team China – led by Klay Thompson and CJ McCollum. Those two players are the premier scorers and perimeter playmakers for this squad. Less so for Klay, who is more of a play finisher, but we have Gordon Hayward beside him at forward who is more than capable of running offence. The lead playmaker is pick-and-roll savant and mid-range assassin De’Angelo Russell, who has had a whirlwind couple of years criss-crossing the country from L.A. to Brooklyn to San Francisco to Minneapolis. Rounding out the first-5 is Aaron Gordon, who is more of a power forward, but we’ll slide him up here due to this group’s lack of size. A plus defender, Gordon’s lack of reliable & consistent jump-shooting make him an ideal candidate as a small-ball five anyway.
In terms of these guys’ sneakers – Klay is approaching his sixth signature sneaker with Anta Sports, the KT6. CJ McCollum is the lead guy for the main Li-Ning sneakers, wearing brand flagship models like the Yu Shuai and the Speed Premium. Hayward recently joined Klay at Anta, and has had a very successful debut signature with the GH1; regarded by many sneaker reviewers as one of the premier performance models of 2019/20. De’Angelo Russell has taken over the mantle as the lead guy for Way of Wade, after Dwyane Wade’s retirement, and wears both the mainline and takedown versions of Wade’s eighth signature model, the WOW8 and All-City 8 respectively.
The back-up group is pretty guard-heavy, and consists mainly of NBA veterans. The backcourt is Rajon Rondo to set things up, and Lou Williams to knock ‘em down. The frontline is made up of a couple of big guards, both of whom were drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers, both of whom possess unreliable-to-non-existent jump shots, and who have stuck in the NBA as defensive role players – those players being Evan Turner and Michael Carter-Williams. MCW has had a startling run of success with Houston and now Orlando, after being picked up off the scrapheap by the Rockets. Finding himself almost out of the league, MCW has shown an ability to disrupt opposing teams’ scorers off the bench, and can be a part of some transition offence. Evan Turner was a part of the Portland Trailblazers run to the Western Conference Finals, having success guarding opposing team forwards, even some with traditional PF size such as Paul Millsap. Kevon Looney provides some defence and rebounding at the C position, along with the ability to switch defensively. Although more of a true C than Gordon, they’re actually about the same size, and Gordon is far more talented offensively than Looney.
Rondo is on his sixth signature sneaker with Anta, the RR6. Lou Williams has a signature line with Peak, the Peak Flash, now on its second model; he has also worn the Peak Lightning and Peak Underground which were also his shoes. MCW and Evan Turner coincidentally both wear Li-Ning, while Kevon Looney wears teammate Klay’s Anta sneakers.
The coaching staff for Team China was easy — Dwyane Wade was the no-brainer choice as HC. Now with eight signature sneakers, with a ninth on the way, his own Way of Wade sub-brand under the Li-Ning umbrella (a la Jordan Brand with Nike, or the upcoming Curry brand with Under Armour) includes apparel and lifestyle footwear as well as the on-court performance sneakers. Flanking him is Tony Parker, who had seven signature sneakers with Peak Sports, the Tony Parker 5 & 6 both receiving positive reviews from sneaker testers, and Kevin Garnett, who was one of the earliest players to go overseas for his sneakers, blazing a trail for the likes of Parker and Wade, and later Thompson, McCollum and Russell to follow — much like the way he was a trailblazer for the preps-to-pros movement in the 90s.
With that, we’ve examined all the squads I could come up of guys signed to particular sneaker brands. Let me know what you think! Does Nike run away with this fictional tournament as easily as one might have thought from the outset, or do any other squads have enough to give them trouble? Is the guard play from Adidas or Team China enough to disrupt the size of Nike? As I said, let me know.
This was a ton of fun to put together. If you’re still here, thanks for reading! And if you would like to read more like this in the future, comment below or message me!
*Clarifying the injuries:
If a player was already ruled out with what the team deemed a “season-ending” injury before the NBA resumed in the Orlando bubble, I did not consider them for these teams. Some players, like Golden State Warriors teammates Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, we are not able to get an accurate assessment of their injury status, as their team was one of the eight worst teams in the league, and thus not invited to Orlando. I had to assume that if Golden State was playing games right now, they would be able to participate. Also, it made the whole exercise more fun to be able to include them. There are players that are injured right now, and their teams deemed them “season-ending”, but I included them in teams, such as Ben Simmons. He was healthy going into the restart, recovered from the back injury that threatened his season at the beginning of the year, but then promptly suffers a knee injury in the Orlando bubble that ended his season. He was able to participate in games though, so I included him. Marvin Bagley travelled to the bubble, suffered an injury in practice, and was ruled out for the season. I didn’t include him in the Puma squad as he was never able to participate in a regular-season Kings game during the restart, only making it to “training camp”.
Hoops Sneakers 