Do you ever wonder what signature model or brand is most popular amongst NBA players?
According to a study conducted by Versus Reviews, Nike reigns supreme and Kobe Bryant has the most popular signature model.
The data collected in the study tells us that about 58 players were consistently wearing Kobe Bryant signature sneakers, while Nike dominates with 64% of NBA players sporting the Swoosh. For some perspective on how big that number is, adidas came in second with 17.7%.
According to the data, the Nike Kobe A.D. is the most popular shoe worn by NBA players, with the adidas Crazy Explosive being the fourth most popular. The remaining three were all sneakers made by the Swoosh.
We highly recommend you check out the full study here because there is some very interesting data including a breakdown of the top brand worn in the NBA by position.
What do you think of this data? How long can Kobe hold the crown as most popular signature sneaker in the NBA? Sound off in the comments section below.
Source: Versus Reviews
What’s the deal with the cp3’s??? Oh lord where is the XI????
I think one of the reason Kobes and Jordans are so popular is that neither of those athletes play in the NBA anymore. To some people it might feel a little weird wearing KDs when your team gets its ass kicked by the warriors.
Players would wear Kobe’s regardless if he was in the league or not.
I do wonder what was done to the PE’s to make them more desirable over what seemed to be a poor shoe with consumers. I mean changing the cushion is one thing, but Jarron cited how his midsole was breaking, and there’s no way around the fact that the heel counter extended too low.
Unless players in the NBA are not being paid to wear these shoes anymore, because none of these players are buying the shoes from Eastbay, who really cares other than Nike?!
Nike will encourage players to not wear retro Jordan kicks on court, as this is well documented. So they give incentives to the players, encouraging them to wear the shoes that they are trying to promote. Kobe’s shoes sell like shit as well, so it is a good look when players are wearing them. Promotion. When players only wear retro Jordan’s, it makes Nike Basketball look bad. Players are paid to wear these shoes, they do not buy them, so the article is misleading by leaving out that little tidbit.
That’s the problem with looking at someone’s feet to determine whether or not something is a good seller. I never see anyone wearing Kobe’s shoes in NYC, anywhere. However, I look at the numbers to determine what’s happening. They are readily available. Right now Kyrie is doing very well, with LeBron second, KD, and Bryant is bringing up the rear for Nike sigs. Overall, LeBron leads the way for Nike sigs, who isn’t even close to what Jordan pulls in. Now that Adidas has beaten Jordan for number 2, things are going to get interesting.
It seems like I’ve seen pg1’s a ton so far this preseason…
I guess the “be like KOBE” is in the minds of players,
The Mamba mentality….not the shoe,
I guess most of them grew up seeing Kobe play, so they look up to him, or idolize him,
Still Adidas Boost for Basketball for me ^^
Because most people still don’t know boost and has air stuck in their minds, can’t blame them, won’t blame them either if they suddenly migrated to boost.
Personally, I love Boost casually but not for b-ball. The high % of the Adidas wearers going with Lillards suggests some of the players are the same way. I prefer my Lillard 2’s to my Rose 6’s, as far as cushioning goes.
And I prefer my Kobe 11 EM’s to both. I have a narrow foot and want my shoe to fit tight to the top of my forefoot with no heel sleep…..Nike makes several models that usually check those boxes for me. Haven’t quite found an Adidas that does. There’s always too much forefoot room for me, mainly on top.
Adidas has made great strides as far as innovating and using their best materials, but there’s still some things they’ve gotta clean up if they’re going to beat out Nike basketball.
The Adidas wearers are definitely going to the crazy explosives, since it’s the 5th most popular shoe in the league (1st for adidas)
Also, I still think Nike is best when it comes to making lower to the ground cushioning that is still effective. Zoom Air when it’s done well(which isn’t often enough) is still the best at that, and I still like the removable lunarlon midsoles found in some Kobe models for that reason too. While the protection is great, I feel a little high off the ground in both my Lillards and Rose’s. Would love to find an Adidas model that gives you that low to the ground feeling, but still with great protection.
I literally wear Jordan’s because of stability. Being flat footed the newer Jordans are a good combination of structure and cushion for me, then Brandblack, Adidas and UA are tied for 2nd.
I have no doubt that Kobes are the most used shoe in the NBA because it is always performance and aesthetically proven. Even outside the NBA, Kobes are the most favored shoe. Jordans are now more likely an off-court shoe except for the new ones which are really for performing.
Note: I don’t even have a Kobe shoe but Lebrons I have and I don’t know how in the world am I saying this lol
When I play ball I wear it usually my JCrossover 3 and Rose 7 which I got for $50 and $80 respectively. I ball on a budget.
But TBH if there was no sponsorship in the NBA I bet most players would be playing in Jordan retros just because they are mostly sneaker heads and want to be seen via social media. It’s like the people who drives a Mercedes or Ferrari to work..they can make it to work in a $15k Honda but is that going to turn heads?
It would be neat to see a month where players can wear anything they want regardless of footwear sponsorships.
Data doesn’t “tell” us anything. When you write “according to the data”, you are being anthropomorphic.
Lol what? I’m not sure I follow. Anthropomorphic?
Even ‘end of benchers’ get paid these days to choose a certain way, so it’s not like in the past, where a player chose a sneaker from the TeamBank to have sneakers, they’re choosing a contract now.