As has become increasingly common in the NBA among lottery picks, Brandon Ingram has already signed a shoe contract before even playing a regular season game for the Lakers
The NBA already seemed to cash in on the rivalry aspect of the draft, with the top two picks going to the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers, two franchises who have had their fair share of Playoff history together.
The rivalry, however, got that much better when Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram also decided to sign with Nike and Adidas respectively.
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Since his time at LSU, it was almost a forgone conclusion that Simmons would eventually sign with the Nike and follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, LeBron James.
For a short while, Simmons even held out on signing with Nike in hopes of landing on the Lakers and thereby securing a more lucrative contract.
Unlike the former, Ingram along with lottery picks, Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, Dragan Bender and Jaylen Brown, also signed with Adidas two days before even being drafted. Specifically in regards to Ingram, this was surprising see since throughout his high school career he sported mostly Nikes whether it be Hyperdunks in high school or Kevin Durant‘s models further down the line.
Almost even stealing away first overall pick, Simmons, it is beginning to become clear that Adidas is making a real push to challenge Nike for top sports brand in the NBA, which is understandable seeing as they were recently replaced by the former as the official supplier of the NBA‘s on-court apparel.
Next: ESPN Predicts LA Will Retain Their Draft Pick in 2017
With headliners like James Harden, Damian Lillard and now Brandon Ingram and company, the future of Adidas looks impressive but they still have a ways to go before even stepping to Nike’s already established kingdom.