Nike may have LeBron James under a massive contract, and his sneakers are the NBA’s number 1 seller, but LeBron sure looks like an Adidas man these days. Last night LeBron played a marvelous game against the Indiana Pacers, giving fans all sorts of thrills. Because it’s still preseason, LeBron also spent a lot of time cheering his teammates on from the sidelines, where his massive shoulders and arms were very visibly draped in the familiar three stripes of Adidas. And with a good-size Adidas logo on his chest to boot. Adidas took over the NBA uniforms when it bought Reebok in 2006. And James wore the three stripes with Miami, too, like every other player. But the Cleveland warm-ups make the Adidas brand much more noticeable.
LeBron looked sharp and strong–the Adidas warm-ups were form-fitting–but he didn’t look anything like a Nike spokesperson he’s paid millions to be. The camera didn’t bother to pan to his Nike shoes, but understandably stayed on his face and upper body, covered completely in very well-branded Adidas attire. The three stripes of Adidas run all the way down LeBron’s long legs, too. Nike is going to like seeing LeBron James, its number 1 player, looking this good in Adidas all season about as much as the NFL likes seeing Beats headphones.
