Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid will be leaving adidas and signing an endorsement deal with Under Armour, according to Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel.
Embiid will join Stephen Curry and Patty Mills as the top names endorsed by Under Armour, though he may be marketed as a co-star to Curry.
The Sixers star is one of the premier players and personalities in the NBA. Not only did he average nearly 23 points per game last season on of the Eastern Conference’s elite teams, but the Cameroonian hooper has quite the influence on social media as well. As of October 2018, Embiid has over 1.5 million followers on his Twitter account, @JoelEmbiid.
This may be exactly the jolt Under Armour needs to keep up with the ever-expanding basketball market. Nike’s stocks have consistently climbed, adidas is endorsing more and more players, and Puma has completely relaunched its basketball division by spending big money on some of the league’s most recognizable names.
Embiid is reportedly very excited about the chance to have his own signature shoe, according to Thamel, and that he wanted to “break” the idea that big men can’t have signature models. There’s no word on when a potential Embiid signature model will be coming
What’re your thoughts on Embiid signing with Under Armour? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned for more.
Great acquisition, and really the only big man that I think can be marketed enough for a sig. I would definitely give him a sig because he’d be the only big man to have a sig in the American market (not Dwight). Under Armour needs to push him as their other guy
Trust the Process! Embiid to Under Armour, Hayward to Anta. Very interesting sneaker free agency!
I’m all for Embiid’s own sig line, but I’d rather see Nike athlete “stolen” by UA rather than hoop sneaker underdogs squabbling amongst themselves =\
I can imagine the funny commercials with him + Steph.
Surprised Puma didn’t snatch him up the way they’ve been getting players.
Please give him Micro G or Hovr, Under Armour! Can’t risk losing him to injury with your lame-ass EVA!
Nike making noob moves!
It’s about time UA got another big name star in the league. Steph can only do but so much for the basketball division
About damn time UA gets a star athlete in their roster! If UA wants to increase their sells, they have to market big time players that can also put off a marketable signature shoe. Embiid is that guy, especially since he’s a big social media personality.
I’m a fan of Under Armour, this is very big for them. But they can’t treat him like a sidekick to Curry. They don’t pay enough attention to anything outside Curry, like their new Hovr Havoc line.