Brandon Jennings Is Changing the Shoe Game, Are John Wall and Evan Turner Next?
Is Brandon Jennings changing the shoe game as we know it?
He is, but will it have an effect on the overall basketball shoe market? On October 23rd, Jennings is releasing his shoes, called "Micro G Black Ice." The Black Ice shoes are the signature shoes. The other shoes being released are Micro G Lite, Micro G Fly, and Micro G Blur.
Personally, I am obviously really excited because Brandon Jennings is my favorite player in the NBA and I have been waiting for his shoes to come out to a very long time. Here is a little something from an interview between Megan Wilson and Ryan Drew:
Wilson: “How important was it for Under Armour to build the hype around the signature Jennings shoe releasing it? Was there ever a plan to release the Prototype 1 or 2 (Jennings’ shoes for Italy and his rookie season) to retail?”
Drew: “With the limited number of shoes we are releasing, the true hype is in the exclusivity of the product. We don’t have plans to re-release these shoes, so once they’re gone, they’re gone. Our original plan with the Proto 1, 2, and 3 was to create product that we could use as part of our weartest program and to outfit our sports marketing assets — 12 Division 1 college programs, 33 elite level high school programs and 10 AAU teams — totaling over 18,000 pair of shoes in the last two years.”
The fact is: Kids want Under Armour basketball shoes. They want to wear them because Brandon Jennings does. The Bucks have an amazing fan base. I know many of the Bucks fans have also been waiting for these shoes and are going to buy them October 23rd.
I will be for sure ordering two pair if not three. Now on the business side of the matter…
Many of you have probably heard about Brandon Jennings saying that he wasn’t invited to the Team USA tryouts because he wears Under Armour shoes and not Nike. It could go both ways.
Some people say, "Rose, Billups and Eric Gordon don’t wear Nike and they were invited." I look at those three players this way; Billups is a leader, a vet, someone they needed on that young team, Rose is one of the biggest players in the NBA, and Eric Gordon...well, I'm not too sure about.
The other half says, Yeah, why didn’t Jennings get invited? Then, when they hear what he thinks, they agree. Has anyone thought of this? Maybe Nike tried signing Jennings before Under Armour did. And they still have not got over the fact that he signed with Under Armour instead.
That probably is not the case, because Jennings or Nike would have said something about that already. But back to the first two reasons. I think they could have invited Jennings. They invited Evans and Curry, both of the other contenders for the Rookie of the Year award, and Evans ended up winning. Any of you who have read my other articles know that I think Brandon got robbed. What was so bad about Jennings that Team USA couldn’t even let him try out? They didn’t have to keep him on the team but they still could have given him the chance he deserved.
This whole controversy has given Under Armour Basketball a lot of attention. This is the first time they are releasing basketball shoes. Nike has always had the biggest and best players but lately some of the younger guys have signed with other shoe companies.
Look at these names. Derrick Rose, signed with Adidas. John Wall, signed with Reebok. Evan Tuner, signed with Li-Ning. Eric Gordon, Adidas.
Those are some of the recent players that have signed with shoe brands other than Nike. Some big names of that list. Maybe the biggest being John Wall, #1 overall pick of the 2010 Draft. He was the first basketball player to sign with Reebok since Allen Iverson. That was a long time ago! 1996. I would have been a one year old. Fourteen years later, they signed one of the biggest players to come out of College Basketball recently. And he already has a shoe that he will be wearing this season. A basketball version of the Zig Tech. The Zig Tech is worn by players like Chad Ochocinco, Sidney Crosby, and Peyton Manning. So Wall joins an elite group of players sponsored by Reebok.
In all honesty, I had heard little and knew little about Li-Ning before Evan Turner signed with them. All I really knew was that Baron Davis was sponsored by them. After Turner signed with them I did more research and found out that they were the biggest Chinese sporting company. They make products for; Basketball, running, fitness, tennis, football, and badminton. They all make apparel for Kung Fu and Tai Chi. But when Turner signed with them; a lot of people searched them and found out who they were. It was also announced that Evan would have his own signature shoes and apparel by the time his sophomore NBA season rolled around. This is a big deal for Li-Ning and Turner because they will both make a lot of money off this and get a lot of attention.
So is Nike being dethroned?
Of course not. Nike will always be big; they still have Kobe and LeBron.
Plus, can't forget Kevin Durant, who will be around for many years to come.
I love Nike but I won’t be getting their basketball shoes anymore.
Nope, I gotta have my man Brandon Jennings shoes. After all, he is my favorite player.
