On the NBA’s opening night, competition spilled over to the sneaker giants.
Nike took a thinly veiled shot at Adidas Tuesday through its Twitter/X account in response to an Anthony Edwards commercial that debuted earlier in the day and the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves. “Still the King. No lies detected.,” the post read, referencing the lie detector concept of the Adidas spot.
Edwards takes a lie detector test in the ad and answers several basketball and sneaker-related questions. When the young T-Wolves star says his signature sneaker — which Adidas can’t seem to decide to call the AE 1 or Anthony Edwards 1 — is the best in the game, the lie detector confirms the veracity of response. When he says a younger player could take his place, however, the machine cries foul. When he says he’s the top dog regardless of his lack of consideration for MVP last season, the lie detector returns to straight lines.
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LeBron James, aka the “king,” and the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves Tuesday night 110 to 103. James put up 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, while Edwards contributed 27 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Bronny James, LeBron’s son, was held scoreless in his NBA regular season debut but played just three minutes.
Edwards has taken on the adversarial role from the jump for his runaway hit sneaker, as an earlier commercial for the AE 1 saw him disparaging other NBA players’ signature models.
This isn’t the first time he’s been a focal point of a spat between Nike and Adidas either. When Edwards said the NBA player he’d most like to see in his shoe was Kevin Durant, a longtime Nike athlete, the elder superstar said on Twitter/X that he wouldn’t “put a big toe in them Mfers.” In a response that was then deleted, the Adidas Basketball account posted, “u dusty bouta retire soon anyway.” A follow-up tweet saying, “meant to send that from the burner account…” was left published, though, and referenced Durant’s own fraught history with alternate social media accounts.
Last season saw Edwards continue in his growth to become one of the league’s brightest stars, and his Adidas sneaker has been widely praised and touted as the best signature sneaker debut in some time.
About the Author:
Ian Servantes is a Senior News Editor for Footwear News specializing in sneaker coverage. He’s previously reported on streetwear and sneakers at Input and Highsnobiety after beginning his career on the pop culture beat. He subscribes to the idea that “ball is life” and doesn’t fuss over his kicks getting dirty.
