Tag: Nike

Nike releases a powerful LeBron James ad about ‘the kid from Akron’

Another legendary LeBron ad.

We’ve seen some incredible and entertaining ads from Nike and LeBron James over the past couple of decades, from “The Chosen One” to the Kobe and LeBron puppets to The LeBrons.

The latest from the company and the Los Angeles Lakers star takes a different route, a more serious, powerful commercial that focuses on James not just as a basketball megastar, but as someone who started with “humble beginnings” and how he’s used his platform to help so many young students to rise up from similar situations.

As kids watch his highlights through the years, it’s James who watches a story about his Akron “I Promise School,” on his phone, as he asks, “You know what would be really special? If there were no more humble beginnings.”

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LeBron breaks out the purple and gold ‘Lake Show’ Nike LeBron 17 colorway in Atlanta

LeBron James breaks out the purple and gold ‘Lake Show’ Nike LeBron 17 colorway in Atlanta for Los Angeles Lakers matchup with Hawks.

LeBron James’ high school teammate, Romeo Travis, posted a picture of LeBron and his Fab Five crew from St. Vincent-St. Mary following their alma mater’s ESPN matchup with Bronny James and Sierra Canyon on Saturday. In the photo that Travis shared on Twitter, LeBron was the only person not wearing his signature sneaker.

When it came time to tip-off against the Hawks in Atlanta on Sunday, however, King James was back on brand. LeBron took the floor against Trae Young and company wearing a purple and gold colorway of his recently released LeBron 17’s. The shoe is decorated in various shades of purple and features a gold tongue, gold laces and gold swoosh on the sole. It is also a near perfect match with the away uniforms that James and the Lakers were rocking in the ATL.

Through three quarters on the road against the Hawks, LeBron has totaled 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Superstar teammate Anthony Davis has scored 21 points and collected nine boards while helping the Lakers build an 82-78 lead heading into the final period. Young has 23 points and seven assists for a Hawks team that continues to compete. Los Angeles had previously led by seven points at halftime.

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Baseball fans are furious about the Nike logo on the new MLB jerseys

All this over a logo.

Every MLB team will have a noticeable uniform change this coming season, and it won’t be too difficult to miss.

Nike will be the official on-field uniform supplier for Major League Baseball, taking over a role that Majestic Athletic had held since 2004. And while Majestic was evidently content with a discreet company logo on the sleeve, Nike — as you should expect — is going a different direction.

GET READY FOR THE SWOOSH.

That’s right. Every MLB jersey will have the Nike logo on the front of the jersey. From the Miami Marlins to the New York Yankees, no team was able to avoid supplying Nike with premium real estate on the jersey.

And sure, it’s just a logo, and manufacturer logos get similar placement in the NBA, college sports and, oh, every major soccer league. Only the NFL relegated the swoosh to the sleeves.

But baseball is a game that clings irrationally to tradition. It managed to avoid a major corporate presence on uniforms for a century until the New Era logo’s addition to the caps sparked a mini-meltdown a couple years ago. So, it came as no surprise that MLB fans weren’t particularly pleased with the swoosh’s place on the front of the jersey.

Would the Nike logo look better on the sleeves? Yes. Will fans eventually get used to it? Also, yes.

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Seahawks QB Russell Wilson reflects on having Nike shoe line

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was able to collaborate with Nike to make a shoe called Dangeruss, but for him it means more.

Athletes are taught to play for the name on the front of their jersey, not the name on the back. However, nobody said anything about the name on their shoes, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has had the opportunity to do exactly that.

Wilson certainly isn’t wearing the Nike Dangeruss shoes on the field while he crafts his MVP-caliber season, but having a Nike shoe still is one of the most surreal experiences of his life.

“It’s been a cool experience, you think about young kids all over the world, all over the country that you want to be able to impact and have an influence on,” Wilson said. “Hopefully they look up to you, hopefully they want to be like you, hopefully they want to be better than you. That’s what I want to inspire in everybody, why not them, why not you?”

Wilson sees all that in the shoe named after him. His ability on the field has allowed him to catapult himself into an influential spot and his shoe is just another positive in the success he’s had in his career.

It means more if people wear the shoe, which according to Wilson has not been a problem.

“People loved them,” Wilson said. “It’s always cool when you have your own shoe, people shout you out. With social nowadays, you get a lot of tweets and Instagram posts, I get a lot of those and try to shout some people out occasionally. It’s always cool when fans recognize all the hard work you put into everything.”

That hard work has manifested itself to success in a career where he was seen as the underdog for so long.

In 2019, the hard work has helped Wilson not only reach MVP numbers, but also lead his team to a 9-2 record.

Week 13 brings another tough test against the Vikings, and a chance to take over the number one seed in the NFC West.

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Rockets launch ‘Space City Saturdays’ with new City uniforms

Each Saturday game for the remainder of the season — home and away — will feature the new “City Edition” uniforms for the Rockets.

The Houston Rockets launched their “Space City Saturdays” campaign for the 2019-20 season with Saturday’s home game versus Atlanta.

Each Saturday game for the remainder of the season — home and away — will feature the team’s new “City Edition” uniforms. With “H-Town” across the chest, the NASA-inspired white uniform evokes Houston’s historical and present relationship with the U.S. space agency.

The first 3,000 fans at Toyota Center for the Hawks game received complementary rally towels designed to look like the new jerseys, complete with the numbers of Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

According to the team’s website, highlights of the new uniforms include:

  • NASA font for typeface and numbers throughout the jersey
  • Traditional Astronaut ID Tag on the upper right chest
  • American flag on the belt line to celebrate U.S. national pride
  • Side panels of jersey are inspired by the Gemini Program, which helped NASA prepare for the Apollo moon landings
  • Vertical brand identifiers on the shorts to resemble a rocket launch

NASA, which is short for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has extensive history in Houston tracing back to the establishment of the Johnson Space Center (then named the Manned Spacecraft Center) in 1961. It was a key support facility in NASA’s quest (ultimately successful) to put a man on the moon that decade.

Vanessa Wyche, deputy director at Johnson Space Center, took the game’s ceremonial “First Shot” shortly before tipoff.

Unlike recent years, these latest City uniforms do not feature Chinese lettering — though that decision was made long before the franchise’s recent controversy involving China.

Similar to the plan to wear the City uniforms each Saturday, the Rockets also have a special “Flashback Friday” theme for nearly all Friday games in the 2019-20 season. In that program, the current Rockets are wearing retro-themed Classic uniforms as part of a 25-year anniversary celebration of the 1994-95 NBA championship squad.

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In total, Houston has five sets of uniforms this season. The Rockets brought back their black “Statement” jerseys from last season, while the red “Icon” and white “Association” jerseys were changed to incorporate a new font, modernized side panels, and the inclusion of black as a core color. Those sets and the Classic uniform were released in June.

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Lions legend Barry Sanders named honorary captain for Thanksgiving Day game

For their annual Thanksgiving Day game, the Detroit Lions have named Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders as an honorary captain.

For their annual Thanksgiving Day game, the Detroit Lions have named Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders as an honorary captain.

Sanders, who played his entire career in Detroit from 1989-1998, is remembered for putting on a show every Thanksgiving. In his ten games on turkey day, he ran the ball 210 times for 931 yards and eight touchdowns.

The 51-year-old entertained jokes of a return for Thanksgiving last season, and now has the honor to lead the team into the field for this year’s prime time game.

Being named honorary captain isn’t the only his story for Sanders this Thanksgiving.

The former Lions running back has teamed up with Nike to release limited edition Air Turf Zoom Jet 97’s. The shoes have been designed to resemble the cleats that Sanders famously wore throughout his career as a Lion.

This is a limited-edition shoe with only 2,053 pairs made — mirroring the exact number of rushing yards Sanders had during his iconic 1997 season.

They currently retail for $179 and can be purchased at Ford Field, and will then go on sale for $150 online, starting at game time tomorrow (12:30 PM, EST).

Report: ‘Sneaker King’ P.J. Tucker nears new Nike endorsement deal

Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker is close to signing a new endorsement deal with Nike, CNBC’s Jabari Young reports.

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Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker is close to signing a new endorsement deal with Nike, CNBC‘s Jabari Young reports.

The 34-year-old has been with Nike throughout his extended NBA career, but his prior deal expired Oct. 1.

Young reports:

Tucker also received interest from Puma, Adidas and New Balance, his agent Andre Buck of Arete Sports Agency confirmed in an interview. The 34-year-old player is expected to command a multiyear, six-figure sneaker deal that would be the largest endorsement deal of his career.

“He’s been happy with the level of interest from the various brands,” Buck added when contacted by CNBC. “So much of the sneaker culture, even beyond basketball, is a part of his life.”

In 14 games to begin the new 2019-20 NBA season, Tucker is averaging 9.9 points (53.2% shooting, 47.5% on three-pointers) and 6.6 rebounds in 34.9 minutes per game. He’s seen by many as Houston’s most valuable and versatile defensive player.

However, he’s probably best known to the masses for his fashion sense, both on and off the court. As far as basketball shoes, Young estimates that Tucker — often referred to as the NBA’s “Sneaker King” — has more than 5,000 pairs in his collection.

What makes Tucker’s endorsement deal unique is the diversity of his collection and the extensive online following that it has generated for him. Based on that, Nike has allowed Tucker access to their complete vault of sneakers — as opposed to one specific shoe or line, as is the case with most players. From Young’s story:

“They’re selling products, so they want you to wear certain things,” Tucker told CNBC in an interview last month. “But for me, they let me wear anything I want. Everybody can’t do that, especially if you’re under contract.

“With that blessing,” Tucker said he can wear a variety of lines, including the Kobe Bryant 4 model, his all-time favorite game-sneakers.

Young says the deal should be a multi-year pact worth “six figures,” which would be the largest endorsement deal of Tucker’s career.

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Rockets unveil new City uniforms with nod to NASA, space history

With a NASA-inspired theme to celebrate Houston’s space history, the Rockets unveiled new “City Edition” jerseys for the 2019-20 season.

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The Houston Rockets revealed their fourth new uniform of the 2019-20 season at halftime of Monday’s home game versus Portland.

The NASA-inspired white “City Edition” uniform evokes Houston’s historical and present relationship with the U.S. space agency.

According to the team’s official website, highlights of the new uniform set include:

  • NASA font for typeface and numbers throughout the jersey
  • Traditional Astronaut ID Tag on the upper right chest
  • American flag on the belt line to celebrate U.S. national pride
  • Side panels of jersey are inspired by the Gemini Program, which helped NASA prepare for the Apollo moon landings
  • Vertical brand identifiers on the shorts to resemble a rocket launch

The team also posted a video to its social media channels to showcase the new uniform, which features “H-Town” across the chest.

With a “Space City Saturdays” theme, the City uniforms will be worn for every Saturday home and road game this season, debuting Nov. 30 when the Rockets face the Atlanta Hawks at Toyota Center. The jerseys can be purchased beginning Wednesday, Nov. 27 at the team store inside Toyota Center and at RocketsShop.com.

Unlike recent years, these City uniforms do not feature Chinese lettering — though that decision was made long before the franchise’s recent controversy involving China.

NASA, which is short for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has extensive history in Houston tracing back to the establishment of the Johnson Space Center (then named the Manned Spacecraft Center) in 1961. It was a key support facility in NASA’s quest (ultimately successful) to put a man on the moon that decade.

Similar to the plan to wear the City uniforms each Saturday, the Rockets also have a special “Flashback Friday” theme for each Friday game this season. In that program, the current Rockets will wear retro-themed Classic uniforms as part of a 25-year anniversary celebration of the 1994-95 NBA championship squad. That promotion began with last Friday’s win over Indiana.

In total, Houston will have five sets of uniforms this season. The Rockets brought back their black “Statement” jerseys from last season, while the red “Icon” and white “Association” jerseys were significantly changed to incorporate a new font, modernized side panels, and the inclusion of black as a core color. Those three sets, along with the aforementioned Classic uniform, were released in June.

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