On Christmas Day, Beijing time, Jokic officially became the 361° global brand spokesperson. Following Irving's signing with Anta, another top NBA superstar has joined hands with Chinese sports brands.
In terms of starweight, Mr. Yoo is especially above Irving, after all, he is a two-time regular season MVP, as well as a new NBA champion and FMVP. Aside from his NBA title, Irving doesn't have a few other significant individual accolades.
The 28-year-old is at the peak of his athletic career, and the Nuggets are also a strong contender, and the Nuggets will be strong contenders for the championship for years to come. Such a top star left Nike's camp and chose a brand that ranked fourth or third in China, causing an uproar around the world.
One detail worth mentioning: eight of the nine regular-season MVP winners who are still active in the NBA have their own signed sneakers, with Mr. Yoo being the only exception.
LeBron's signature shoe has come to the 21st generation;During the playoffs last season, Nike released Durant's KD16;A few days ago, Nike also released Brother Alphabet's signature shoe, Zoom Freak 5;Curry, a signature UA athlete, released the Curry Flow 10 last seasonHarden's most signature shoe at Adidas is vol7；Adidas also released the 11th generation of the D Rose series in 2020, followed by "Sons of Chicago" a year later;Embiid, meanwhile, wore the UA Embiid 1 last seasonAir Jordan released Why Not 6 last year for its Willisconsin.
It's a bit of a lack of embarrassment. In an interview with a local in Denver over the summer, Mr. Yoo admitted that he and Nike had not had any discussions about signing shoes.
Since entering the league, Mr. Yoo has been wearing Nike sneakers. Early in his career, Mr. About Sensei wore LeBron Fighter 9 and the HyperDunk series. Starting with winning his first regular season MVP trophy, he has his own exclusive version. In 2021, his sneakers were Nike Zoom Rize 2 with his exclusive Joker logo on the tongue. Later, he started wearing the Joker special of the Zoom GT Jump.
For the unsigned shoe series, Mr. Yue's attitude is somewhat interesting, "Of course it's good if you have it, but if you don't, I won't die." So, that's what happened. ”
His teammate Aaron Gordon instead came out to play a round for Nike, "He has his own logo with his personal logo on it. It's already great, I haven't seen many people with shoes like this. I know that Nike isn't going to launch too many player signature shoes. ”
Aaron Gordon himself is an athlete under the 361° flag and played a major role in Jokic's signing with 361°. He stood up to speak for Nike, which somewhat made people feel that Mr. Yoo was not on the same level as Nike's players who have signed shoes. Currently, Nike's stars with signature shoes are: James, Durant, Sabrina Ionescu (the top pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft), Booker, Morant, and the unique Kobe.
Regarding why Mr. Jokic chose to part ways with Nike, American sneaker professional ** "Sneakernews" pointed out that in addition to the fact that Jokic does not have signature shoes under Nike, it also includes: the big men in the NBA do not sell shoes, and the marketing resources and endorsement fees given by Nike may be less than now.
In the sneaker circle, there has always been a saying that big men don't sell shoes, and the only exception may be the "big shark" O'Neal. Going back in time from Jokic, the last regular-season MVP without a signed shoe was Nowitzki in 2007. Nowitzki, like Jokic, is from Europe and is also a big man on the inside. It's fair to say that big men have never been the most coveted iconic athletes for sneaker companies, as they don't have the explosive bounce ability and explosive power of a striker.
Why are signature sneakers so important to a star?Jordan must have the most say in this matter. Owning a pair of signature sneakers is not just a status symbol, it means a steady income**, even when the player has left the NBA.
Air Jordan has always been the best-selling sneaker on the market. Since the launch of the Air Jordan 1 in 1984, Jordan himself has made more than $1 billion from sneaker sales. Other retired players, such as Hardaway and Iverson, also continue to receive a share of the revenue from sneaker sales, as do the Bryant family.
However, Mr. Yoo's lack of interest in signed shoes also seems to have something to do with his low-key personality. Owning a pair of signature shoes means a series of advertising shoots, commercial events, interviews, etc. All along, these are what Teacher Yue resisted. Remember when he said, "As long as I can win a championship, I don't care about the third MVP"?When the Nuggets won the 2023 championship, he also said that he wanted to return to Serbia immediately after the championship parade so that his horse could be seen.
The Denver Gazette reported in a report at the end of June this year that Jokic did not sign the sneakers, which may be due to Nike's reluctance to provide them, or it may be that he doesn't care at all.
Just a few months later, Jokic said goodbye to Nike and threw himself into the embrace of 361°. Back a week ago, sneaker fame Depaula reported that Jokic had signed a multi-year signed shoe contract with 361°. Prior to the official announcement of this partnership, Jokic had already appeared in the Nuggets-Raptors game in a 361° big3 future. Next year, Mr. Yue's signature shoe series is expected to be released.
Mr. Yoo obviously cares about signed shoes. "We've both been investing time and energy into discussing this and are both eager to take my first signature shoe from idea to reality. It's been a fun ride and it feels like my horse is about to win the race. Mr. Joe's comparison of the signed shoe to his favorite racehorse shows the extent of his heart's desire.
His teammate, Aaron Gordon, who had previously played the round for Nike in an interview with **, played the role of lobbyist in the deal. Mr. Yoo said that Aaron Gordon told him that 361° was really great, very responsive and willing to listen to the players. Aaron Gordon's good relationship with 361° has laid an important groundwork for Mr. Yue's cooperation with Chinese brands.
Irving and Jokic both threw themselves into the arms of the Chinese brand after parting ways with Nike. In addition, it is also rumored that Embiid may also cut ties with UA and choose to hold hands with Skechers. Skechers is also a newcomer to the sneaker market. (Read more: Kane and Skechers, the birth of a pair of sneakers).
The era of Nike, Adi and other first-tier international brands monopolizing top stars seems to be a thing of the past. Li Ning had previously signed O'Neal and Wade, but the two superstars were basically in the final stages of their athletic careers when they signed. Irving, Jokic and Embiid are all in the prime of their athletic careers.
The rivers and lakes of basketball shoes may really have a big reshuffle.