Five NBA players with signature shoe line of Nike
The National Basketball Association history’s first signature shoe was a Puma Clyde which was customized for New York Knicks legend Clyde Frazier in 1973. Since then the concept of the signature shoe has boomed in the basketball world. Nike dropped its first-ever Air Jordan in 1985. This way it opened the door for all top players in the NBA to build their own customized shoes with the top brands. Currently, there are 16 active basketball players with their own signature shoes. Some players joined these brands early into their careers, while others worked their way out to collaborate with these brands.
With the NBA regular season starting one year and ending in another, it can be hard to judge which shoe lines are the best ones. Some signature shoes have revolutionized the industry of basketball sneakers. Let’s take a look at six players rocking their namesake on their feet with Nike.
LeBron James
LeBron James was drafted first overall in the NBA draft in 2003. Many shoe brands wanted to sign him including Adidas, Nike, and Reebok. Among them, Reebok was offering a whopping $115 million, $28 million more than Nike’s offer. But James signed with Nike, which could be the best financial decision he made at that time. From 2004 to now, he has dropped a signature shoe every year. The latest shoe LeBron 17 is one of the best and unique sneakers at the moment. LeBron earns $36 million every year from his Nike deal. However, despite the huge amount, he is second on the list of riches shoe deals. Michael Jordan has the richest shoe deal in history. Jordan makes around $130 million from his shoe deal which more than triple the amount made by anyone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCTUNRCA-Ao
Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant signed with Nike in 2014 in a 10-year-deal till 2024. There was a bidding war between Under Armour and Nike when Durant used to play for Oklahoma City Thunder. Nike countered Under Armour’s offer and it was enough to sign with multiple times final MVP winner Durant. He has had 12 iterations of his signature shoes with the latest one being KD 12. Durant makes $26 million through the deal with Nike.
Kyrie Irving
Irving signed with Nike in 2014 and introduced his first signature shoes to the world. The Kyrie 1 was his first signature shoes. His most recent shoe is Kyrie 6, which was dropped ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. Irving earns around $11 million from the deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU7Qwhsh8TA
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Milwaukee star signed with Nike in the summer of 2019 and makes around $10 million from the deal. The Nike Zoom Greek Freak 1 was launched just after he won his first MVP of the regular season. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the first NBA star born outside of the US to have his own signature shoe.
Paul George
LA Clippers star Paul George signed with Nike in 2016. He signed a deal and makes $5.5 million every year. His signing made him the 21st athlete overall to sign with Nike. His first signature shoe launched by Nike was PG 1.
