November/December 2018 ~ Footwear Insight • 39
BASKETBALL
Retro
Renegades
Can fashion-
forward styling
and endorsers
from the '90s
breathe new life
into basketball?
By Bob McGee
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE NOT TOO-DISTANT PAST, EVERY ATHLETIC BRAND HAD A
performance basketball shoe and marquee NBA player to endorse it and help sell it to young
players. Dominque Wilkins hawked Brooks; Hakeem Olajuwon promoted Etonic; Clyde "The
Glide" Drexler pitched Avia; and Shaquille O'Neal began his still-going-strong endorsement
career wearing a signature shoe from Reebok. But recent seasons have proved troubling for
the silhouette. Participation in the game has tumbled and young consumers have migrated to
classic and sport lifestyle looks and away from pure performance basketball shoes, with the
exception of some LeBron James models and a select few Air Jordans. Sales of performance
basketball shoe sales fell mid-single digits in the third quarter and have trended negatively
since back-to-school 2015, according to The NPD Group. And the market is overwhelmingly
dominated by Nike and Brand Jordan, which together corner more than 90 percent of market
share to the tune of $4.4 billion in revenues in Nike's most recent fiscal year.
PHOTOS BY FRANK JAMES
