The moment occurred in early April at Palais Brongniart, the former home of the Paris Stock Exchange. Donahoe reaffirmed Nike’s early investment in Wembanyama, who signed with the Swoosh years before his NBA debut.

“Victor is a generational talent,” Donahoe told Andscape at Nike’s “Nike On Air” event for the 2024 Paris Games. Set for his Olympics debut, the 20-year-old San Antonio Spurs star forward represents his country and first footwear brand, approximately four years after Nike first heard of the uniquely sized teenager playing in France’s top league.

“It’s remarkable how much he’s experienced at 20,” Donahoe said. “He’s handled everything with grace and had a standout rookie year.”

Wembanyama’s initial multiyear Nike contract carried into his unworldly 2023-24 debut NBA season as the Spurs’ No. 1 overall pick. After averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and a league-leading 3.6 blocks in 71 games, Wembanyama emerged as the unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year, a milestone Nike celebrated with the release of his own special-edition sneaker.

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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama's Nike G.T. Hustle 2 is inspired by his outstanding talent.

Nike

The insoles of San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama's sneakers include the extraterrestrial logo.

Nike

The outsoles of San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama's Nike G.T. Hustle 2 includes the tagline "Be Unique Every Day," a guiding motto for the French star.

Nike

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama's Nike G.T. Hustle 2 features his "Alien" logo.

Nike

The glow-in-the-dark elements of San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama's Nike G.T. Hustle 2.

On May 15, the Nike Air Zoom G.T. Hustle 2 Victor Wembanyana dropped online for $170 a pair. The shoe sold out in minutes.

“The relationship with Nike, it makes sense to me and feels good because I can’t see a more ambitious brand that matches my own ambition,” Wembayana said during his Rookie of the Year news conference. “They’re thinking ahead, outside of the box.”

Highlighted by a custom alien head illustration on the heels and insoles, Wembanyama’s Hustle 2s, from Nike’s “Greater Than” (G.T.) series launched in 2021, marked the first retail shoe release of his young career. However, the true beginning of Wembanyama’s Nike origin story took shape exactly a year before his alien-adorned debut shoe came out.

On May 16, 2023, Nike hosted a lottery watch party for Wembayana at the company’s Paris headquarters. After the Spurs secured the top pick, Nike reps handed out celebratory hats adorned with an alien graphic, according to The Mirror and San Antonio-Express News.  

“I met Victor and his parents in Paris last year,” Donahoe said. “And when I shook his hand, it completely engulfed mine.”

Though Nike has yet to confirm whether terms of Wembanyama’s endorsement include the design and launch of an official signature shoe line, rumblings in basketball and sneaker circles speculate it’s a matter of when — not if — Wembanyama will become Nike’s next NBA signature headliner. The Swoosh, however, has already delivered a concept sneaker designed exclusively for Wembanyama.

At the end of the Paris activation in April, Nike unveiled a collection of 13 sneaker prototypes, each inspired by one of the brand’s Olympians. Wembanyama’s A-I-R prototype, displayed inside Palais Brongniart, materialized in a design resembling a spaceship than a sneaker.

“Just look at the prototype of his shoe concept,” Donahoe said. “Victor’s foot is really THAT big.”

With the Olympics opening this week, Wembanyama’s A-I-R prototype remains on display in Paris, where people can go see the concept shoe finalized in size 21, Nike confirmed to Andscape. Wembanyama’s prototype, exhibited at the historic Centre Pompidou museum, looks like a UFO you’d imagine he arrived on from the extraterrestrial world Nike is building its basketball brand around.

Yet, an even more alien reality: Wembanyama’s feet are still growing.

Back in October 2022, that one word — “alien” — organically aligned the stars of marketing inspiration for Wembanyama and, eventually, Nike.

During an NBA preseason news conference, Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James became the first person to call Wembanyama an “alien” after Wembanyama’s 37-point game with France’s Metropolitans 92 on U.S. TV.

“Everybody has been a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like an alien,” said James, praising Wembanyama’s fluidity and grace on the court. “No one has ever seen anyone as tall but as fluid and graceful as he is out on the floor.”

For the past few years, many have considered Wembanyama — by metrics of athletic ability, uniqueness of size and global marketing appeal — the most-hyped hooper to surface since James entered the NBA at 18. James’ debut signature shoe, the Nike Air Zoom Generation, was released in October 2003 at the start of his rookie season. Three months later, Wembanyama was born in early January 2004, five days after King James’ 20th birthday.

Now 20 himself, Wembanyama also received his first Nike shoe, though not technically a signature model, as an NBA rookie.

“At his size,” James said in 2022, “with his ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot stepback jumpers out of the post, stepback 3s, catch-and-shoot 3s, and block shots … He’s, for sure, a generational talent.” His words foreshadow Nike CEO John Donahoe’s acknowledgment of Wembanyama as one of the brand’s highest-profile signings since his tenure began in 2020.

“Wemby is nothing short of an awe-inspiring, difference-maker of a generation,” Nike’s basketball footwear director Deepa Ramprasad told Andscape. “Our team has a uniquely exciting challenge to meet the call-to-action of an athlete who a lot of us think has the opportunity to redefine and reimagine how the game of basketball looks.”

Yet even before James classified him as an alien, Wembanyama had begun to pinpoint his foreign differences, which extended beyond his physical stature.

“I feel like I’m an artist on and off the court. I love thinking about a lot of things — I love drawing. I love building Legos. I love writing,” Wembanyama said during an ESPN2 interview in August 2022. That summer also marked the 40th anniversary of director Steven Spielberg’s 1982 blockbuster film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which tells the story of an alien — named Zrek, but famously known as “E.T.” — trying to find his way as the only of his kind on Earth.

As weird as it sounds, E.T. ‘s nostalgic narrative and Wembanyama’s real-life experience aren’t all that different, save for a pair of plot points. The two actors who portrayed E.T. stood around 2-feet-10 — exactly 4½ feet shorter than Wembanyama. And unlike his movie character comparison, Wembanyama is in no rush to leave where he’s landed in the NBA.

“I like being called an alien,” Wembanyama said in a Sports Illustrated profile before the June 2023 NBA draft. “I’m really glad [LeBron] said that because I didn’t like to be called a unicorn. I like [alien] because it’s just something not from this world. It’s really what I’m working to be — something unique and original.”

It’s almost as if Wembanyama took James’ alien assignment and translated the words into a creative challenge of personal branding. Before Nike’s Paris draft lottery party in May 2023, Wembanyana began doodling Alien heads, stick figures and spaceships — drawings he proudly presented to Nike and the brand’s longtime ad agency, Wieden+Kennedy, in meetings.

“The Alien concept came from Wemby,” Rampsarad said. “That was something that the team talked about in partnership with him. ‘Hey, how do we want to position you and storytell?’ Specifically through some of the player-exclusives that you saw him wear this season. So, the concept arose during a collaborative conversation with him and our design partners.”

Within minutes of the Spurs winning the No. 1 overall pick, Nike posted a custom image on social media with Wembanyama positioned in front of a Paris backdrop with a green streak flying over the Eiffel Tower. By mid-August 2023, Wembanyama appeared in his first brand campaign, promoting Nike Tech gear. “The Extraterrestrial has landed,” read the caption of Nike’s post.

“Wemby is all for the Alien storytelling,” Ramprasad said. “I think it’s kind of cool to see his confidence in our ability to tell an athlete’s story.”

True to Wembanyama’s alien fascination, one of the NBA’s most complex X-files concerns the mystery behind the 20-year-old star’s correct shoe size.

For this story, no representative — from the NBA’s league office, the Spurs organization, his agency or even Nike — would confirm Wembanyama’s official shoe size. Yet, there’s tangible evidence to substantiate the unearthly, yet not improbable, reality that Wembanyama’s feet grew as much as two sizes during his first NBA season. 

You read that right. 

If the claim still seems unfathomable, follow the trail of reports linking Wembanyama to wearing five different shoe sizes throughout his rookie year.

Last fall, ahead of the 2023-24 season, the NBA provided Andscape with an official spreadsheet featuring the apparel and footwear size of every player on the roster, reported annually by all 30 teams as a league requirement. Initially, the Spurs listed Wembanyama’s shoe size as 20, tying him with five fellow players — Rudy Gobert, Robin Lopez, Boban Marjanovic, Karl-Anthony Towns and Ivica Zubac — for the title of biggest feet in the NBA.

Yet, during the preseason in early October 2023, the league’s @NBAKicks social media handle posted a photo of Wembanyama sitting courtside wearing a pair of Nike G.T. Runs. The caption: “Size 20.5!”

According to healthline.com, “feet usually stop growing at age 20 in males.” Midway through his rookie season, Wembanyama turned 20 in January, around the same time Nike reportedly began designing his A-I-R prototype to be unveiled at the brand’s Paris Games activation in April. According to Nike, the concept shoe’s final product measured at size 21. Yet, by the end of his rookie season, Wembanyama disclosed to at least one NBA writer that his shoe size had reached 21.5, the anonymous reporter who covered the Spurs substantially this season told Andscape.

“We’ll let Nike handle the shoe size question,” wrote Jordan Howenstine, director of basketball communications for the Spurs, in an email to Andscape when asked to confirm Wembanyama’s shoe size. As for his endorser’s explanation: “All of the Nike Basketball footwear worn by Victor is built to his exact specifications,” said a brand spokesperson.

But there’s at least one known pair of Wembanyama’s rookie Nike sneakers in a size 22.

On April 15, renowned international collectibles broker Sotheby’s listed an auction featuring a bright yellow pair of Wembanyama’s player-exclusive Nike GT Hustle 2s. Nike included the shoes in a batch of PEs, and the brand provided Wembanyama with options to wear while competing in multiple events during February’s NBA All-Star Weekend. Wembanyama never wore the bright yellow Hustle 2s in a game this past season. Yet, official photos of the sneakers released by Sotheby’s show the box’s label — clearly reading size 22.

“The G.T. Hustle 2s fit absolutely true to size,” explained Stanley Tse, a footwear product tester and contributor for WearTesters. And while it’s worth noting that many players wear custom insoles or orthotics, requiring them to go up a half or full size, the common NBA footwear trend isn’t exactly necessary with the GT Hustle 2 silhouette.

“The caveat is there’s already an insole in the Hustles that’s cut a specific way because the Zoom strobel cushion is directly under foot for comfort and impact protection,” Tse said. “However, it’s known that Nike customizes models for players to their exact liking.”

“I’m sure Nike did a clay molding of Wemby’s foot to get exact measurements,” Tse said. “But if his foot is still growing, which I wouldn’t put past him, Nike’s gonna have to keep doing moldings.”

If Wembanyama’s foot size officially reaches 22, he will be tied with Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal and center Bob Lanier for the largest in NBA history.

“One of the things that’s the most unique about working with Wemby so far is how he’s continuing to develop in his body, not just his game,” Ramprasad said. “For us at Nike, it’s about how do we keep up with Wemby’s evolvement anatomically to meet all the needs he may have from a footwear perspective.”

From 1992 to 1995, O’Neal’s foot grew from size 19 to 22. In five months, from October 2023 to February, Wembanyama laced up, or at the very least received, pairs of sneakers in sizes 20, 20.5, 21, 21.5, and 22.

“We’ve had athletes before who are considered big in the space of basketball and footwear,” Ramprasad said. “But, it almost feels like Wemby and his feet are ever-growing, right? An athlete that young, whose body is evolving at the rate his is? The best word to use is dynamic.”

When Wembanyama’s signature Nike line debuts, his suspected size 22 shoes will be the largest ever for a Nike headliner, surpassing Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning, who wore an 18 in his two Nike signatures from 1997 and 1998, and Kevin Durant, who also wears a size 18.

“The similarities between Kevin and Wemby are insane,” said Nike footwear designer Leo Chang, who crafted Durant’s first 12 signatures. “What I saw in Kevin was that he was almost this superhuman who had adapted to the game of basketball. He was this ultimate hybrid player who could play all positions. After growing up, he developed the handles of a guard but then stretched and could play even in the center.

“I think Wemby has similar versatility to KD,” Chang said. “And what’s amazing is Wemby will continue to develop that versatility to inform his footwear product.”

Durant’s signature line, which debuted 15 seasons ago during his 2008-09 sophomore NBA campaign, transformed the 6-foot-11 star into the “Durantula” and “Slim Reaper.” In 2019, Greek-born star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who wears a size 17, launched his ongoing signature series that branded him as the “Freak” of Nike Basketball.

“Just like LeBron said, everybody’s been a unicorn,” Wembanyama told reporters at Madison Square Garden in November 2023. “But, there’s just one alien, right?”

By NBA All-Star Weekend in February, Wembanyama debuted his alien-inspired Nike G.T. Hustle 2s. Before wearing the shoes on the court during the All-Star Skills Challenge, Wembanyama showed off the glowing green PE colorway on social media. Specifically, Wembanyama made sure that cameras caught his iridescent logo embossed on each shoe’s heel.

“An alien I drew one day,” Wembanyama said at All-Star in February, the first and only time he donned the special-edition G.T. Hustle 2s. Out of the 71 games he played this past NBA season, Wembanyama only wore Hustle 2s five times, and favored the Nike G.T. Run model, which he laced up in 66 games.

Yet, neither Wembanyama’s alien affinity nor his innate creativity were limited to the G.T. Hustle silhouette that Nike chose as the canvas for his first Alien-themed shoe. At some point during the 2023-24 season, Wembanyama’s customization of his light pink G.T. Runs showed up in images of his most-worn rookie PEs.

Wembanyama drew an alien’s face and spaceship in black Sharpie on the back of his left shoe. 

The 7-foot-4 star couldn’t wait for Nike to put his official alien logo out in the world.

In the past 40 years of Swoosh lore and marketing, Nike has launched Air Jordan’s Jumpman, Penny’s 1 Cent, King James’ crown and the Black Mamba’s sheath. Yet, no signature logo in Nike Basketball history experienced a rollout like Wembanyama’s alien.

Before the end of the 2023-24 NBA regular season, Nike unveiled Wembanyama’s extraterrestrial branding in a commercial opening with the line, “Somewhere in South Texas,” before a drone image reveals a crop circle in the form of an alien head flanked by two swooshes. Nike strategically released the 45-second spot — with the tagline “The total eclipse has just begun” — on April 8 during the afternoon that marked the first full eclipse to pass over North America in seven years.

Approximately four years ago, the first correspondence swirling Wembanyama sparked between a Nike sports marketing rep in Europe and the head of the brand’s sports research lab back at headquarters in Oregon. The message essentially decoded as, “There’s an athlete out here in France, unlike any being we’ve ever seen.” Soon, Nike embarked upon the challenge of solving for Wembanyama’s unique body type through footwear.

“Wemby is an athlete who really just inspires us to rethink our systems and innovation in a way that, without him, we may not be catalyzed in the same way,” Ramprasad said. “It’s nothing short of incredibly exciting. And it’s also one of those, ‘watch him in this space’ moments. Because his journey is only just beginning. And so too is ours in partnership with him.”

In the past 12 or so months since Wembanyama entered the NBA, Nike has closely examined the evolution of his growing feet while honing in on the exact fit and sizing of sneakers he needs on the court. Wembanyama has already begun testing another silhouette after announcing on social media in early July that the new Nike G.T. Hustle 3 will be his “shoe for the summer,” which he’ll lace up exclusively during the 2024 Olympics.

For the size-20-something wearing Wembanyama, a Nike signature line certainly doesn’t land outside the worlds of imagination or possibility.

“It’s a very beneficial relationship and it’s working,” Wembanyama said of his Nike partnership in May. “But, what we’ve done so far is not enough. We want to do more.”

The 27-year-old center for the Las Vegas Aces and her longtime endorser, Nike, now have an answer to one of the most polarizing prompts in women’s basketball — Where is A’ja’s signature shoe?

On Saturday, Nike officially announced Wilson as the global footwear company’s next signature headliner. This makes her the 13th player in the WNBA’s 28-year history to be selected to design and release her own sneaker – the A’One.

“To finally say I’m a signature athlete is truly a blessing,” Wilson told Andscape via the Zoom platform earlier this week before Nike’s official announcement.

According to Nike, the A’One will be released in 2025. However, Wilson was confirmed to receive her signature line in early 2023.

“The trust that Nike and I have developed with each other, and the hard conversations that we’ve had, has personally been my favorite part of the process,” Wilson said. “Because those are the things people don’t necessarily see. But it happens — it’s all in the words.”

Now, entering the 2024 WNBA season, Wilson is one of just three active WNBA players, joining New York Liberty players Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, with an officially announced signature shoe line. In late April, 2½ weeks before Wilson and Nike’s planned announcement, The Athletic reported Indiana Fever’s No. 1 overall pick and rookie Caitlin Clark had an eight-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Nike that included a signature shoe. However, Nike has declined to comment on the details of Clark’s endorsement contract or officially confirm that she has a signature shoe in the works.

“It’s been an incredible ride, but there’s a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders now because it was starting to get hard,” Wilson said. “But with the movement and growth of the game, I feel like this was the perfect time to say, ‘Hey, I got a shoe on the way.’ ”

Wilson will soon become the first Black woman to headline her own signature basketball shoe for Nike in 22 years, since Sheryl Swoopes’ seventh and final model, the Air Swoopes Premier, which was released in 2002, when Wilson was 6. Wilson is also the first Black WNBA player to be announced as a signature headliner since Candace Parker in 2010 when Adidas released the first of Parker’s two models. Coincidentally, the news of the upcoming Nike Air A’ja One arrived the same week that Parker was named Adidas’ new president of women’s basketball.

Yet with Parker now retired, Wilson is the only Black woman in the WNBA with her own shoe.

“It did take a moment — probably longer than what I wanted, probably longer than what a lot of people wanted — but we’re here now,” Wilson told Andscape. “And that’s what truly matters — to just continue pushing the needle.

“I’m just so glad to say that I am now a signature athlete.”

On April 11, Nike granted Andscape interviews with Wilson and University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley during the brand’s “Nike On Air” activation in Paris, which was held in advance of the 2024 Summer Games.

In separate interviews, the WNBA star and her former coach commented on the status of Wilson’s long-anticipated debut Nike signature shoe.

At the time, neither Wilson nor Staley, an official Nike endorser since 1995, could confirm that a Wilson shoe had officially been in the design process for more than a year. They also didn’t disclose details surrounding the shoe’s mid-May announcement.

Yet Wilson and Staley, who form one of the most beloved mentor-pupil relationships in women’s basketball, each spoke calmly and candidly about the potential of a signature shoe for the reigning WNBA Finals MVP.

Wilson didn’t hesitate in her response to one of the conversation’s opening questions: How many times would you estimate you’ve heard “Where’s your shoe?”

“If I had a dollar for every time I’ve read or seen the question, I’d probably be a gazillionaire,” Wilson told Andscape with a laugh. “But it’s a blessing to have a fan base that wants more for me, that wants to see me in different places. It’s been amazing to see how much fans want a signature shoe for me at Nike. When that time comes, we’ll be ready.”

Wilson reflected upon one specific moment when she fielded a question about why she had yet to receive her own shoe.

Following Game 1 of the 2023 WNBA Finals between the Aces and New York Liberty in October, a reporter spoke about it during a news conference with Wilson and Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon.

“I just thought the best player in the league should have their own shoe,” the reporter said before Wilson let out a calm sigh and Hammon interjected.

“She needs her own shoe, let me answer that,” Hammon said. “I’ll toot her horn because she won’t. She’s the two-time MVP, an Olympic gold medalist, the best defensive player in the league. Like, stop … Stop.”

“Hearing the question does get tiring, but it’s something that I don’t take for granted because I would much rather people ask than not say anything because that would mean I’m not deserving,” Wilson told Andscape in Paris. “But there’s definitely value in patience. That’s something Coach Staley has taught me — that some of the best things come from waiting, and, ‘What’s delayed is not denied.’ That’s something I have tatted on me. That’s something I live through. So, it’s something I’m gonna stick through.”

Staley also spoke to the palpable anticipation of Wilson’s debut signature shoe during her April 11 appearance in Paris with Nike. And, of course, Staley, who headlined two of her own Nike signature shoes in 1999 and 2000, addressed the subject.

“For A’ja, a signature shoe is only deserving,” Staley said. “I think she’s the best player in the world. And the best player in the world probably should have a shoe already. But it’s the buildup as well. You want the shoe to be right. You want to go through the process of putting your heart and your everything into your first shoe.”

Twenty-five years ago, Nike released Staley’s first signature shoe, the Air Zoom S5, ahead of her debut season in the WNBA after she had played three years in the American Basketball League. After first signing with Nike in 1995, Staley played four full pro seasons before Nike released her first signature shoe in January 1999.

So, if there was anyone in this world that Wilson could turn to for peace of mind on her path to her first signature shoe, it was Staley.

“A’ja is going to have a better shoe because she’s a two-time WNBA champion,” Staley said. She’s going to have a better shoe because she’s a two-time Olympian now. You need elements of storytelling in a shoe, from playing to also your background and upbringing. So, I think the longer the story, the better the shoe. Although, we all want A’ja to have her shoe already.”

In February 2023, ahead of a fateful meeting at Nike’s Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters, Staley received an assignment from the Swoosh.

Nike wanted the South Carolina coach to be the first person to share the news that Wilson has awaited since first signing with the brand as a rookie in 2018.

“I was shown a video from Coach Staley in which she told me, ‘This is the moment — the moment we’ve all been waiting for,’ ” Wilson recalled. “Coach Staley let me know that I was now going to be a Nike signature athlete and there was definitely a bucket of tears.

“Because, it was in a moment when questions were being asked,” Wilson said. “A lot of people were looking at me and I didn’t really have any answers. I just wanted to play my game and move on. Then, it was a huge moment to have my college coach let me know, ‘Nah, girl, you’re getting your own shoe.’ ”

You’d think Wilson would’ve immediately rushed to dial mom and dad back in South Carolina. Instead, Wilson employed a similarly consistent approach to handling all the questions and noise in the past few years. Essentially, the WNBA star has kept quiet, even in conversations with Eva and Roscoe Wilson.

“I was kind of hesitant to tell my parents,” Wilson said. “Because, you know how parents get — they run with it all! Actually, my parents still haven’t even seen the shoe. They know I’m a signature athlete and I’m gonna to get a shoe. But, they have no idea about anything else.”

In the past 15 months, Wilson and her management team have celebrated in silence, and all the while she’s developed a strong working relationship with Nike Basketball senior footwear designer Ben Nethongkome, who’s leading the signature process behind her upcoming shoe. Nethongkome designed multiple models for former Nike signature athlete Kyrie Irving’s heralded line, before becoming Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant’s lead designer. Nethongkome also crafted the debut signature models for Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and the New York Liberty guard Ionescu.

“Just seeing Ben tap into his mode has been the highlight of the whole making of the collection. I tell Ben, ‘I’m so lucky that you’re on my team pushing out this shoe.’

Since early 2023, in design sessions that sprinkle over into texts, the 6-foot-4 WNBA center has been picking Nethongkome’s brain. Both quietly have their minds set on a specific signature sneaker culture objective for the design of the shoe Wilson requested in a low-cut silhouette.

“I know people are like, ‘It’s hard for bigs, it’s hard for post players to sell shoes,’ ” Wilson said. “But I’m like, ‘Well, no… there are shoes for everybody.’ And my shoe is not going to be one-dimensional, because I’m not one-dimensional — whether on court or off court.”

Until her shoe is officially finalized by Nike and ready for her to debut on the court ahead of its planned 2025 retail release, Wilson will lace up special-edition makeups of Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James’ latest signature model, the Nike LeBron 21. During the 2023 WNBA Finals, Wilson became the first pro hooper to wear the LeBron 21 on the court, even ahead of James himself, who handpicked his favorite WNBA star to debut his signature shoe while she shaped her own.

“Sis the TRUTH!!!,” James, a fellow Klutch Sports client, posted on Instagram after the Aces won their second-straight title at the end of last season. “Signature shoe coming!! I mean what we talking about!”

For her footwear journey’s biggest moment yet, a signature headliner is exactly how Wilson returns home to South Carolina. There, in August 1996, Wilson was born four days after the USA women’s basketball team won gold at the Atlanta Summer Games, playing with the first three African American women who received the opportunity to headline signature sneakers for Nike Basketball.

After Swoopes, Leslie and Staley came Cooper, Holdsclaw — and, finally, more than two decades later, A’ja Riyadh Wilson.

“I understand this weight is heavy, but it’s happy weight,” Wilson said. “So, I’m like, ‘We’re going to move this needle.’ So, the next young Black girl doesn’t just have to wear my shoes or my collection. She can then dream to be the next one. And that’s what it’s all about. The women of ’96 gave young girls like me a dream to be like, ‘No, this is real. I can obtain it.’ It’s spiritual, it’s powerful to me and something I don’t take lightly at all.

“This shoe is for us.”

Most deem him a “generational talent.” Many believe he’s the best prospect in the 2024 NFL draft. And Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has called the star wide receiver from Ohio State University simply “H.I.M.”

Now, Harrison will be regarded as the face of football for a footwear company after signing a multiyear endorsement deal with New Balance, the Boston brand officially announced Tuesday.

Harrison, 21, the son of former Indianapolis Colts wideout and 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Marvin Harrison, joins defensive ends Chase Young of the Washington Commanders and Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans as the only three players to represent New Balance in the NFL.

New Balance handpicked Harrison to headline the first cleats in the brand’s 118-year history designed specifically for American football. The debut New Balance Fortress and Prodigy models will be unveiled Thursday in Detroit ahead of the first round of the NFL draft, in which Harrison is projected to be a top-5 pick.

And during his rookie season, Harrison will wear the low-cut skill and speed silhouette, named the Prodigy.

“From the first conversation with Marvin it was clear that he was a perfect fit for us at New Balance,” Naveen Lokesh, New Balance’s head of global sports marketing for American football and basketball, said in a statement. “Marvin’s drive, passion and incredible work ethic speak to the person that he is on and off the field. His dedication to everything he does will help us launch New Balance into the American Football category and push the boundaries of what athletes can do to inspire the next generation. We are excited to start this journey together and co-author our legacy in sport culture.”

Andscape caught up with Harrison a few days before the draft via the Zoom platform. He rocked a black “NB” beanie and beamed with pride while speaking on his landmark endorsement deal with New Balance.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did this partnership unfold? And what factored into your decision to start your NFL career with New Balance?

I just think the values that New Balance and I share have aligned. Most importantly, the brand will allow me to have an impact on the community and the younger generation. I want to inspire young athletes to be great in their own way.

When did the conversations start with New Balance? When exactly did the conversations start with NB?

My dad handled all of my NIL deals while I was in college. He wanted me to focus on just football. So, the process didn’t begin for me until after last season. Once I started joining meetings, New Balance and I connected on a different level. Folks at the brand shared similar family values that are really important to me. New Balance felt like a family business with a tight circle, which made it an easy decision for me. And now, I already have my own little tight circle at New Balance.

What does joining a brand that wants you to be the face of its foray into football mean?

There’s value, for sure, in being the face of a brand, especially one entering the football world. But, it really just gives me an opportunity to be out there and inspire the younger generation. That’s what I’m most excited about, and it seemed like New Balance felt the same way.

From a footwear standpoint, how involved was the process of New Balance pitching you?

I got my feet measured. That was the first part of the process. Then they began asking what I liked in a cleat. I could tell they wanted to make sure they could deliver what was best for me, which felt very supportive. The moment was special because it made me feel like I needed to get out of their way and hear what was best for me. I just told them I wanted to be comfortable and supported while still able to perform at a high level. The Prodigy cleat checks all those boxes for me. I honestly couldn’t be happier with the cleat.

Was it your first time getting your feet officially measured?

When you first get to Ohio State, they measure your feet there. But it was my first time since then. I don’t think I found out anything weird this time around. My size is my size.

How would you describe your first time training or playing in New Balance footwear?

The cleats felt great, largely because New Balance has already built a reputation for comfort based on lifestyle and other athletic shoes for different sports. In terms of comfort, the football cleat functions the exact same as everything New Balance puts out. It’s just now the brand is adding the performance aspect of football to the mix. As a receiver, I have to do a lot of movements and position my feet to run fast and change directions. And the New Balance cleat allows me to do everything at an extremely high level. The combination of comfort and performance was noteworthy, for sure.

When you reflect on your childhood, when did you realize your pops had a footwear endorsement deal?

He always had all these pairs of Air Jordans that seemed to appear out of nowhere. [Laughs.] That made me realize he had a Jordan deal.

Have you ever played in any of his Jordan PE [player-exclusive] cleats?

Nahhh. My dad had a totally different designed cleat for AstroTurf. As a kid, I was just playing on regular grass, so I never used his cleats. I also think he’s maybe a 12, and I wear a size 13.

Any cleat superstitions?

I don’t have any, actually. I’m ready to rock and roll as long as my cleats feel good.

There are only four wide receivers in NFL history who have had an off-field signature shoe. Can you name them?

I’ve never really kept track. But I know Calvin Johnson had one.

Is a signature shoe a goal of yours?

Maybe somewhere down the line. Whatever happens, happens as I continue to build this relationship. If a signature shoe is the direction New Balance and I decide to take, that would be great. It would definitely be an honor to have my own signature shoe. But we’ll see what happens in the future.

You’ve frequently been labeled a “generational talent,” and you’re about to start your NFL career wearing a cleat called the Prodigy. Is there any pressure to take on those monikers?

I think my standards for myself are equally high. I already put a lot of pressure on myself to reach certain goals, to the point that I don’t think any added pressure will affect me. I don’t want to do too much, but I want to go out there, work as hard as I can and perform to the best of my abilities.

Where do you want to see New Balance go over the next few years as the face of the brand in football?

This opportunity means a lot. I hope my platform and this partnership help me give back to the communities in Philadelphia, where I’m from, Columbus, Ohio, where I went to Ohio State and whatever new city I go to when I’m drafted. I’m just ready to inspire younger athletes to make it to the NFL one day.

Have you thought about how cool it’s gonna be to see kids eventually wearing New Balance cleats because of you?

Definitely. Because I already know that’s going to be awesome. After me, my little brother [Jett Harrison], who’s 14 will probably be the first to wear New Balance cleats. He’ll be rocking the same cleats as me, which is gonna be really cool. It’s also gonna be fun to see how much the brand grows — and, hopefully, take over football fields.

Mensah, a Black woman who became the first female president of Jordan Brand last year, delivered closing remarks for Nike’s Path to Progress ceremony, which the company hosted at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

The moment served as a check-in for Nike’s 10-year, $140 million initiative known as the Black Community Commitment. Nike and its two subdivisions, Jordan and Converse, launched the project in 2020 as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

In the past four years, Michael Jordan and his brand, notably led by a predominantly Black team of executives, have steered Nike’s landmark program, which aims to advance racial equity and eradicate systemic racism across the United States.

“At Jordan, we have a very important role in helping our community grow,” Mensah told the audience during the ceremony Feb. 21. “To fly in the face of fear is the first step to progress. That’s what roots us in our journey — to be bold, intentional, and focused on challenging systems that threaten our opportunity to create a more equitable future for Black Americans.”

Nike’s initial four-year, $40 million contribution to the commitment will be complete by the end of 2024, according to the company. More than 125 Black-led nonprofit organizations have benefited from grants. However, Jordan’s work is far from over.

According to Mensah, as February, the Jordan Brand has invested more than $30 million in nearly 140 local and national organizations. With six years and approximately $70 million remaining in its original pledge, the Jordan Brand will continue to operate as the driving force of Nike’s Black Community Commitment.

Michael Jordan wouldn’t have it any other way.

“If not the Jordan Brand, then what other brand?” Mensah told Andscape. “I think, from a very authentic and meaningful place, we stepped in under Michael’s leadership in 2020, and that action has extended.”

Ahead of Nike’s four-year check-in, the Jordan Brand created a book distributed internally and to grantee organizations, illustrating its efforts so far through the Black-led nonprofits and grant recipients.

The 77-page Jordan Black Community Commitment Family Album highlights the brand’s grantees, including ColorCreative, the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting and the sports journalism program at Morehouse College. It also features vignettes surrounding work by Jordan Brand athletes and collaborators, from filmmaker Spike Lee and former NBA player Carmelo Anthony to Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, WNBA guard Kia Nurse, WNBA forward Aerial Powers and BMX pro athlete Nigel Sylvester.

On Page 5, there’s A Letter From Michael Jordan, written by Michael Jordan, explaining how he and his brand plan to complete the $100 million commitment made after Floyd’s murder. This is the first time the letter has been released publicly.

“It truly saddens me that we are living in an increasingly divided world, filled with anger, distrust and misinformation,” Jordan wrote. “As I’ve grown older, my appreciation has grown for the truth, grace and caring that can come from sharing stories of the Black experience.

“When I think about the legacies we all leave behind and what we wanted to ensure was made possible through the Black Community Commitment’s work is the opportunity that we have to educate, while also challenging the narratives that impact the everyday lives of Black people,” Jordan wrote. “This is heavy and hard work. Change does not happen overnight. I am proud to support the efforts of our Black Community Commitment grantees and our Jordan Family members who are spreading love in their communities.”

In 2020, Nike CEO and president John Donahoe sent a two-page letter to all Nike employees.

“As we’ve watched racial tragedies expose prejudice and injustice in our cities over the past few weeks, I can’t stop thinking about the individuals impacted: Ahmaud Arbery. Christian Cooper. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd,” Donahoe wrote. “The horrible killings and racist actions serve as a sickening reminder of what too many people live through every day in America. It is absolutely wrong what’s happening in our communities, to our friends.”

“Let me be as clear as I can: Nike is opposed to bigotry,” Donahoe wrote. “We are opposed to hatred and inequality in all its forms, indirect and overt. While Nike cannot solve injustice, I believe we have a responsibility to work toward addressing it to our best ability.”

Following Donahoe’s letter, Nike unveiled the Don’t Do It campaign, introduced by a 50-second, black-and-white ad featuring only text with the powerful ending statement: “For once, don’t do it.”

“A lot of the early conversations we had surrounded how painful it was that it took the death of George Floyd to wake the world up,” Melanie Harris, Jordan Brand vice president and general manager of North America, told Andscape in February. “But, those of us who are Black Americans, and children of Black people who’ve told generational stories, know that these are long-standing issues we face.

“It’s difficult, right?” Harris said. “Because, you hate for a tragedy to catalyze change. At the same time, it reinvigorated the shared sense of responsibility that many people have.”

On June 5, 2020, Nike officially announced its $40 million commitment to support the Black community across the U.S. over the following four years. The pledge’s naming was tactical, according to Harris, who was Nike’s vice president of corporate strategy at the time.

“Commentary around the word ‘commitment’ is important to me,” Harris told Andscape. “I was talking to John [Donahoe], and we were reflecting on when we first decided to make the initiative. We wanted it to be not just a donation, but a commitment.

“There are only a couple institutions that truly have the power to make change: politicians, people with a lot of money and those with a stage,” Harris said. “Nike has one of the biggest brands in the world, especially in terms of impacting culture. So, what I hoped to do four years ago was for Nike to commit to using its platform on top of our ability to provide funding. And, you saw Michael Jordan, personally, felt the same way.”

Yet, for Jordan, Nike’s four-year, $40 million pledge wasn’t enough. 

So, the Jordan Brand devoted an additional $100 million — $50 million of which came personally from MJ — over 10 years, bringing Nike, Converse, and Jordan’s collective Black Community Commitment to $140 million worth of grants to be distributed to hundreds of Black-led organizations.

“MJ is all-in,” Harris told Andscape. “And he really takes his ability to have an individual impact seriously. As general manager of Jordan, I have a responsibility to protect the brand’s legacy. But, at the end of the day, it’s Michael’s name. The common perception is that once someone achieves certain levels of success, that person is disconnected from the world. But this, his personal commitment, says that he’s in it. He believes in the impact and responsibility that he personally has. And that inspires all of us who work on the brand.”

From 2020 to 2023, then-Jordan Brand president Craig Williams led the brand’s involvement in the Black Community Commitment initiative, as the company checked in annually with publicly released updates about the organizations receiving grants.

Last year, Mensah, an executive at Nike since 2013, took over for Williams, who was promoted to his current role as president of geographies and marketplace for Nike. Formerly the Jordan Brand’s general manager of North America from 2015-18, Mensah became the first woman and African American to be named Jordan Brand president.

“To come back to Jordan and step in this role, it’s centering,” Mensah told Andscape. “I feel very much so on my own path of personal purpose. It’s really the fulfillment of a career dream for me to lead a brand like Jordan.”

Mensah now guides a team of Black executives that oversees the multibillion-dollar Nike subdivision. The Jordan Brand’s leadership team includes Harris, vice president and general manager of North America); Tonia Jones, global vice president and general manager of women’s division; Rashad Williams, global vice president of streetwear footwear; Vanessa Wallace, head of brand marketing in North America; and Jason Mayden, who was appointed as Jordan’s chief design officer in December 2023. Mayden was a global design director for the brand from 2012-14.

That’s not to mention Larry Miller, current chairman of the brand’s advisory board, who was Jordan Brand president twice, from 1997-2006 and 2012-2018; longtime vice president Howard White, the longest-tenured Black executive in Nike history; and Michael Jordan.

“It has to be one of the most diverse leadership teams ever created. It’s women, men, and, of course, Black folks,” Mensah told Andscape. “But we have people who represent every facet of diversity — ethnic diversity, neurodiversity, diversity of religion and of thought. And I’m so excited because I’m a believer that diversity truly breeds innovation. And innovation is what we are all about at Jordan Brand.”

Mensah also stepped in to guide the brand amid the administration of the Black Community Commitment.

A month after Mensah’s official July 1, 2023, start date as Jordan Brand president, the last of four Minneapolis police officers convicted in Floyd’s murder was sentenced. The officers, who were convicted on both state and federal charges, received a combined total of more than 40 years in prison for killing Floyd.

“This role, at this particular time, intersects with my personal purpose,” Mensah told Andscape. “This is one of the most, if not the most, inspirational brands in the world. It’s particularly inspirational because it’s rooted in the idea of Micahel Jordan, who is a person who tapped into his inner greatness and found a way to transcend all the things that people who look like us encounter. We have a mission to inspire MJ’s same ability of interconnectivity to greatness.

“So, in this role, I feel like I have the mission and mandate to help people.”

During February’s Path to Progress ceremony, Donahoe discussed his company’s Black Community Commitment.

One line from his speech particularly stood out.

“Simply put, there is no American history without African American history,” Donahoe said.

Following the Nike CEO, leaders from the grant recipient nonprofits, including the Legal Defense Fund, a performing arts school in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Lewis College of Business, the country’s first and only historically Black college that focuses on design — described how funds from the Black Community Commitment have contributed to organizational growth. The most resonating testimony came from Jason Reynolds, a board member for StoryCorps, which records stories to be archived in the U.S. Library of Congress. Later this year, StoryCorps will launch its Brightness in Black project, which will collect stories about the Black experience in America.

“Our history is this country’s history, and therefore it needs to be told from the people who are living it, who have lived it and will live it going forward,” Reynolds said. “With the BCC grant, we’re hoping to not only inspire narrative change in terms of what everybody thinks of us, but change what we think of ourselves. How do we create narrative change at home for us to let our children know that they can grow up and take flight?”

For Mensah, who referred to Reynolds in her closing address, the Jordan Brand’s responsibility at the forefront of Nike’s Black Community Commitment aligns with the purpose of an organization like StoryCorps. And at least for the next six years, Jordan will continue supporting Black organizations and Black people.

“I don’t think the commitment has to stop at 10 years,” Mensah told Andscape. “The Jordan Brand’s commitment to the Black community is infinite — literally. It’s central to who we are as a brand.”

Those words carry significant meaning for Antetokounmpo and his second-oldest brother, Thanasis, who have been teammates with the Milwaukee Bucks for the past five seasons.

Yet, the expression of gratitude traces back nearly 15 years to Athens, Greece, where Giannis and Thanasis — separated in age by two years and four months — learned the game of basketball while playing in the same sneakers. As teenagers, they shared a red-and-white pair of Kobe Bryant’s signature Nike Kobe 4s, despite having different-sized feet, and even while playing on the same teams.

A case could certainly be made that, without those Kobe 4s and Thanasis, Giannis — the NBA champion and league MVP, known as “The Greek Freak” — might not have become the first-ever international player to receive a signature basketball shoe line from Nike. Since 2019, Antetokounmpo has headlined his own Nike Zoom Freak line and an alternate, more affordable line of models known as the Nike Giannis Immortality.

Now, on the stage of All-Star Weekend, Giannis will use his sneakers to officially tell Thanasis what he’s been saying for all these years.

The “Thanasis Thanks for sharing” Zoom Freak 5s feature the phrase, in Giannis’ handwriting, on the collar of each shoe, while Giannis’ No. 34 and Thanasis’ No. 43 are, respectively, embossed on the heels of the left and right shoe. Printed on the heel tabs of the Immortality 3s is “Thanks for Sharing” — the sentence that started it all.

Nike

The Antetokounmpo brothers' respective jersey numbers appear on the heels of the Nike Zoom Freak 5 All-Star.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo's logo appears on the tongue of the Nike Zoom Freak 5 All-Star ‘Thanks For Sharing.’

Nike

The ankle collar of the Nike Zoom Freak 5 ‘Thanks For Sharing’ bears Giannis Antetokounmpo's special message to his brother Thanasis.

Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo raised five sons in Athens — Francis, Thanasis, Giannis, Kostas and Alexandros. The Nigerian immigrant parents ingrained two important lessons into the brothers: Never take anything for granted, and always look out for each other.

“Having my own shoe is one of those things that I never expected. But, it’s something that means a lot to me and my family,” Giannis told Andscape in 2018 when he recounted the story of sharing shoes with Thanasis to me personally for the first time.

This is the first time I’ve shared this conversation between me and Giannis.

It was late August 2018, on the night of the launch party for the basketball video game NBA 2K19. Antetokounmpo, who was revealed as the first-ever international player in 2K history to grace the cover, granted me a 10-minute interview. And during a thoughtful response about what the moment meant to him, Giannis couldn’t help but talk about his then-upcoming debut Nike signature sneaker, the Zoom Freak 1, which wouldn’t be released for another 10 months, in July 2019.

“Kids from overseas, they really don’t believe they can make it to the NBA or have their own shoe,” Antetokounmpo told me in 2018. “But, those kids can make it to the league and get their own shoes. They can do everything that American players, like LeBron or Kobe, can do. Being able to be the international guy who is opening the path for them is amazing. Hopefully, they all get a chance like I did.” 

Giannis began beaming even brighter at a distinct memory surrounding the pair of Nike Kobe 4s that he and Thansasis had the chance to share on countless occasions in their teens.

“I’ve worn so many shoes in my career, but those Kobe 4s are the ones I remember most,” said Giannis that night before pulling out his phone and spending a few minutes searching online for the exact pair. “I remember everything I did with that shoe.” 

It wasn’t even Giannis’ pair of shoes — at least, at first.

Back in 2009, at the age of 17, Thanasis signed his first major professional basketball contract to play for a team named Maroussi in the top division of the Greek Basketball League. One of the best parts of the deal: Thansasis received a brand-new pair of team-issued, red-and-white Kobe 4s.

When his big brother first returned home with the shiny-new kicks, the eyes of lil bro Giannis, then 15 and still playing in the Greek league’s third division, widened like those of future NBA opponents as soon as they see the Greek Freak barreling down the lane at full speed.

“I asked, “Can I wear them? Please!” recalled Giannis, who can’t forget Thanasis’ immediate response: “No.”

Yet, the younger Giannis did as little brothers often do — exactly what he wanted.

“One day, I just snuck and took the Kobe 4s,” he recalled. “I wore them, and when Thansasis found out the next day, he was pissed.”

For Giannis, the following part of the story has become its most-lasting memory and moral. He and Thanasis started sharing sneakers because their now-late father, Charles Antetokounmpo, told them to.

“My dad said, ‘Our family doesn’t have a lot. So, you guys should share your shoes,” recalled Giannis to me of the counsel from Charles, who died from a heart attack in 2017 at the age of 54. “After that, Thansasis would wear the Kobes one day. Then, I would wear them the next day.”

At the end of the interview with Antetokounmpo in 2018, he left the conversation with an admirable declaration:

“If those Kobes ever come out again one day as a retro,” Giannis told me, “I’m gonna get my family, my friends — everybody — a pair of those. Because those shoes meant so much to me and my journey.”

Fast-forward to NBA All-Star Weekend in February 2019, and Nike made Antekounmpo’s wish a reality. Though the Swoosh didn’t re-release the original team-edition red-and-white Kobe 4s from 2009 at retail, the brand made a special, one-off pair for Antetokounmpo in his current size 16. Before taking the court in the 2019 All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, Giannis pulled out a black sharpie and scribbled a heartfelt message on the white toe tips of each shoe: “Thank you Thanasis for sharing.” Nike used the same inspiration from those 2019 Kobe 4s on the designs of both the Zoom Freak 5s and Giannis Immortality 3s.

“Everybody was asking me, ‘You saw what your brother wrote?’” Thansasis told Andscape in 2019. “I actually got really emotional because he made me remember the story. The Kobe 4 was our first legit, really nice shoe we wore growing up.

“I can remember me and Giannis wearing the Kobe 4 [in Athens], saying, ‘This is the best shoe ever!’ We were so happy.”

For the design of his debut signature, the Zoom Freak 1, in 2019, Nike drew direct inspiration from the shoe-sharing story. Especially after Giannis specifically told the brand’s design team, “I want the upper shape and fit of the Kobe 4” for his first shoe, as recalled by then-global vice president of basketball footwear, Kevin Dodson.

“One of the things that makes Giannis unique is he came from a background and area where basketball sneaker culture wasn’t really as prevalent as it is with some of the other athletes who grew up here in the states,” Dodson told Andscape in 2019. “Giannis had all these very distinct memories of wearing that Kobe shoe and sharing it back and forth with his brother.”

A few weeks before the early July 2019 global release of his debut shoe, Nike traveled all the way to Athens to unveil the Kobe 4-inspired Zoom Freak 1 for the brand’s first international signature headliner. As part of the global launch, Giannis and all four brothers returned to the Filathlitikos Basketball Club’s gym, where they learned how to play the game that forever changed their family’s fate. On a lobby wall right before the court entrance hangs a collection of old Filathlitikos team photos — one of which features a frail, 15-year-old Giannis sitting with an oversized pair of red-and-white Kobe 4s on his feet. In a few other team photos on the wall, teenage versions of both Giannis and Thanasis pose proudly near each other. Little did either know then what their family’s future would ultimately behold in the realms of both the NBA and sneakers.

Now, kids in Greece can wear — whether their own pairs or ones they share —  Nike shoes that bear both the names of Giannis and Thanasis Antekounmpo. 

Cameras flashed the 28-year-old star quarterback fresh off the team plane, draped in name brands — from Oakley sunglasses to his signature Adidas sneakers and a rolling Louis Vuitton suitcase stamped with a massive “2PM” logo. Mahomes accented the fit with a snapback hat from City Brim Co., a local Missouri brand with less than 1,000 Instagram followers. Yet, on the retailer’s website, the hat’s been sold out for weeks, presumably thanks to the superstar signal-caller who has brands, big and small, salivating at the opportunity to represent them in football’s biggest moments.

This season, Mahomes transformed into the most marketable player in the NFL — and it’s not even close.

“Patrick is a brand in and of himself,” Corey Hill, head of global sports marketing at Oakley, told Andscape. “His marketability is out of this world.”

On Super Bowl Sunday, within minutes after Mahomes threw the game-winning touchdown to deliver the Chiefs a 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers, several of his brand partners fired off congratulatory posts celebrating their marquee endorser. 

According to 1Up Sports Marketing, the agency representing Mahomes since 2018, the now three-time champion and Super Bowl MVP is officially signed as an endorser for 15 different companies. He promotes everything from his own Oakley eyewear and Adidas signature shoes to Subway sandwiches, Head & Shoulders shampoo and even Hy-Vee, a grocery store chain in the Midwest and South. Mahomes’ other endorsements: Airshare (fractional aircraft ownership company), Boss, CommunityAmerica credit union, Coors Light, Essentia water, Fortnite (Epic Games), Prime Hydration drink, T-Mobile and Whoop (fitness/sleep device).

“Fortunately, Patrick is an athlete who had his own vision from day 1,” Jacquelyn Dahl, CEO of 1Up, told Andscape via email. “It’s always been his vision, and we’re just here to help execute it.” 

According to TV measurement company iSpot.tv, Mahomes was the most-seen athlete or coach in national linear TV ads during the 2023 NFL season.

In games from Sept. 7, 2023, to the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, 2024, Mahomes appeared in exactly 575 national linear TV ads. That means, on average, in the 285 total games played during the 2023 season, Mahomes appeared in an ad at least twice during each nationally televised game. And, out of his 575 total national TV ads airing this season, 429 were for State Farm Insurance. Bottom line: In the past six months, watching an NFL game this season without seeing Mahomes in a State Farm spot was impossible.

“We knew early on that Patrick was going to be a great fit for State Farm because of his commitment to excellence and our shared values of making a positive impact on the community,” Alyson Griffin, vice president of marketing for State Farm, told Andscape in an exclusive statement. “We’ve enjoyed working with him over the years and our campaign for the 2023 football season featuring Patrick alongside Travis Kelce, coach Andy Reid and Jake from State Farm is the perfect example of entertaining and capturing the attention of sports fans. We hope to continue that momentum with Patrick in 2024.”

Entering the playoffs, Mahomes actually trailed Chiefs teammate and tight end Travis Kelce in national linear TV ad appearances during NFL games this season, likely due to the mania surrounding his superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift. Yet, companies doubled down on ads featuring Mahomes during Kansas City’s four-game run to the Super Bowl. Per iSpot.Kelce’s 431 national linear TV ad appearances during games ranked second amongst all NFL players this season, behind only his quarterback, Mahomes.

“Patrick believes in partnering with brands that he truly believes in, top to bottom,” Dahl told Andscape. “He always takes a personal deep dive into what a brand stands for, the leadership, its history and long-term goals. He always says it’s about ensuring that his vision matches up with that of the team behind each brand.”

Mahomes’ reach even extends beyond football. Not only is the Chiefs quarterback the most marketable player in the NFL, but he’s also one of the most advertised athletes nationally across all sports. According to iSpot.tv, since September 2023, Mahomes ranks No. 4 in national ad airings across all TV, with over 26,000 appearances, trailing only Shaquille O’Neal and Peyton and Eli Manning. In the same timeframe, per iSpot.tv, Mahomes ranked No. 1 in estimated national TV ad spend; and, among current athletes, he ranks No. 1 in national ad airings across all TV, with over 10,000 more than the next, LeBron James.

“I say this often because I truly believe it — he’s a unicorn,” Dahl told Andscape. “Not only is Patrick one of the greatest athletes in the world, but he is equally as special of a human, husband, father, teammate, philanthropist and more. 

“It’s all these qualities that make him so attractive to brands who are looking for an ambassador to represent their company.”

In 2017, Adidas became the first company to partner with Mahomes. The Chiefs’ No. 10 overall NFL draft pick from Texas Tech University received a standard rookie footwear and apparel endorsement deal as a rookie.

Fast-forward seven years, and Mahomes now has his own Adidas signature shoe line, which debuted in 2021. Two days before Super Bowl LVIII, the three stripes announced his next shoe, the Adidas Mahomes 2, which will be released later this month.

“Patrick is an integral part of the Adidas family, and we’re thrilled to see his continued success and awe-inspiring performances,” said Chris Murphy, Adidas’ senior vice president of brand marketing, in an exclusive statement to Andscape. “He’s a generational force in sport — not just football — shaping the next generation of athletes and serving as an inspiration to all by finding joy in the game and overcoming pressure in the biggest moments.

“Adidas’ relationship with Patrick is special and continues to evolve from his first signature shoe and apparel collection in 2021. In bringing together Patrick, the most innovative player in football with our design teams, we’re building a unique player brand. And Patrick is closely aligned with and helping to develop our shared future.”

According to Murphy, Mahomes also played a pivotal role in Adidas taking over as Texas Tech’s official apparel supplier, following an 18-year run with Under Armour. In late October, Mahomes pulled up to an NFL game, wearing an unreleased Adidas Texas Tech t-shirt with the caption, “Coming July 2024.” Less than two weeks later, on Nov. 1, 2023, Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt officially announced the school’s switch to three stripes.

After joining Adidas as a rookie, Mahomes landed his first deal as a national spokesperson for an unusual brand — Hunt’s Ketchup — when he became Kansas City’s starting quarterback. The partnership sprouted after a mid-November 2018 ESPN profile published in which Mahomes confessed that he puts ketchup on almost everything. 

“Apparently, Patrick was in Kansas City’s finest steakhouses putting ketchup on steak,” said Dan Skinner, the content and communications manager for Conagra Brands, the parent company of Hunt’s. “It wasn’t in our thought process to say, ‘Hey, Hunt’s, we’re gonna go find the greatest rising talent in the NFL.’ Patrick just had a natural love for ketchup, and we saw it as an opportunity for us. The timing was also perfect, because we were getting ready to launch a new version of our 100% all-natural ketchup. So, we moved very quickly to get Patrick.”

Within a few weeks, Mahomes struck a one-year endorsement deal with the condiment company. And for the first time since television host Roy Clark in the 1980s, Hunt’s had a national face of its brand — the then-23-year-old, ketchup-obsessed NFL quarterback.

To this day, Skinner remembers the exact date — Dec. 14, 2018 — when Mahomes filmed his debut promotional video for Hunt’s. That’s because, less than 24 hours prior, Mahomes experienced one of the worst defeats of his NFL career after the Chiefs fell to the Los Angeles Chargers, 29-28, on Thursday Night Football.

Despite the loss, Mahomes arrived on time for his first ketchup endorsement shoot the following day.

“I hadn’t met Patrick yet. So, it was one of those things like, ‘What kind of mood is this guy gonna be in?’” Skinner recalled. “I wouldn’t have been surprised if his manager called right before and said, ‘Patrick can’t come anymore.’ But he showed up the next morning by himself, ready to go, like, ‘Alright, what do I need to do?’”

Mahomes appeared in four different Hunt’s commercials from 2018 to 2019, when the partnership ended amicably midway through his breakout season, culminating with his first Super Bowl victory.

“I’ve always been so appreciative of what a professional he was that first day,” Skinner said. “The fact that he came to the shoot without any representatives is still wild. But, it was a moment in time when he was a rising star. We had the privilege of working with him early, and loved every minute of it.”

One of Mahomes’ biggest endorsements arrived in 2019 when the NFL agreed to a four-year deal with Oakley to become an official on-field partner and league licensee. In a separate landmark agreement, Oakley named Mahomes the first-ever NFL player to join the global sunglass brand.

“The question was, ‘Who would be the right player in the NFL for Oakley?’” Hill told Andscape. “One of the things we talked about when we considered signing Patrick was we kept seeing all of these young kids who wanted his unique hairstyle. So, we could tell very early on that this guy had some type of ‘it’ factor. To be honest, we originally didn’t even look to see if Patrick wore shades off the field. 

“How he connected with kids and youth really was the main factor in deciding that he would be a great brand ambassador for us.”

In 2021, Oakley teamed up with the quarterback’s 15 and the Mahomies Foundation for a vision care clinic in Kansas City to help kids, and their families cut back on the cost of eyewear.

“Most times, when athletes do an appearance, they’re in and out,” Hill said. “When we did the eye clinic with Patrick, he actually gave his time. He was there with the kids, talking to them, signing autographs. It was pretty amazing.” 

Don’t get it twisted, though: Oakley has reaped the benefits of Mahomes’ ubiquitous rise to superstar status in the past five years. Because, just about any time he’s seen or photographed, Mahomes is sporting Oakley shades.

“When we look at athletes, we ask, “Are people looking at this athlete outside of the sport? How do they present digitally?’ Because the world is so hyperconnected. So, from a visibility standpoint, Patrick has been great for us. Not only is he wearing Oakley products, but you see him in it everywhere — his own platform, the Chiefs’ social channels, and even posts from the NFL.”

Since 2021, Mahomes and Oakley have collaborated for the release of four different signature sunglass collections. His initial “2PM” logo designed for him by Adidas is stamped on the lenses of every pair. You read that right: Somehow, Mahomes and his marketing team persuaded Oakley to put a logo made by another brand on its products. (The “2PM” logo is also on the Louis Vuitton suitcase Mahomes packs for games, though he’s not officially partnered with the luxury fashion brand.) 

“Innovative and meticulous,” said Dahl of Mahomes’ marketing approach. “Patrick is always thinking outside the box on partnerships and brand opportunities.”

Technically, NFL players are not permitted by official league rules to endorse alcoholic beverages. So, in 2022, when Mahomes signed with Coors Light, he and the beer company got creative with their marketing. Mahomes headlined a campaign to promote “The Coors Light” — literally, a $15 flashlight that the brand produced and sold, with all proceeds benefiting 15 and the Mahomies. In 2023, Mahomes appeared in another one of the beer company’s commercials, which introduced the new “Coors Bear” mascot. In conjunction with the campaign, Coors released limited-edition golf headcovers resembling the bear that were also sold to benefit Mahomes’ foundation. 

“Patrick understands the platform he has, and especially his influence over youth,” Dahl said. “And he takes pride in that responsibility with all business decisions he makes.”

Hours before Super Bowl LVII last Sunday, Mahomes pulled up to Allegiant Stadium, rocking all-black Oakleys and a custom-fit black and white Hugo Boss suit. According to a brand rep, Boss collected Mahomes’ measurements at the beginning of this season before designing him an extensive ensemble of suits to wear throughout the year. When the Chiefs punched their ticket to the biggest game of the NFL season, Mahomes became the easy pick to headline Boss’ lifestyle Super Bowl collection. The brand sent the signal-caller every piece in the capsule to wear off the field in Vegas.

Meanwhile, three miles away from Allegiant, Adidas took over the Las Vegas Sphere, where a creative video made by the footwear brand was projected onto the structure. The innovative ad featured Mahomes throwing a football to a digitally rendered version of his younger self alongside a massive three-stripe graphic. The innovative visuals, made specifically to run on the Vegas Sphere in support of Mahomes, were released as part of launching a global brand campaign surrounding youth sports. 

So, for Adidas, it wasn’t a matter of if Mahomes and the Chiefs would reach the Super Bowl. The company consciously decided to make preparations for when Mahomes and his team returned to the final game of the NFL season.

“We wholeheartedly believed Patrick Mahomes would be going to the Super Bowl, so we created a world around him,” Adidas’ Chris Murphy told Andscape. “We brought together some of the most proprietary technology and innovative minds, including Patrick’s team, the Sphere and several partner agencies, to help create this legendary vision. 

“Patrick is the most-innovative football player and a generational force, so it’s only right we used the most innovative tech to honor his likeness.”

With his third Super Bowl title in the past five years, Patrick Mahomes is the best branding investment in sports.

“We definitely believed in Patrick’s trajectory on the performance side,” Oakley’s Corey Hill said. “But, I don’t know if any brand knew that he was gonna be doing what he’s doing now.”

The life-sized poster features Oklahoma City Thunder star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s been the face of Converse in the NBA since 2020. In the brand’s latest campaign, mirror images of SGA stand back-to-back, holding two different colorways of the identical shoe — the Converse Weapon.

“People are probably thinking, ‘Why now?,'” said Brodrick Foster, Converse’s product merchandising director of limited-edition footwear releases. “But, we think, ‘Why not?’”

On Feb. 8, the Nike subdivision revived the classic shoe with the launch of the “Create History Not Hype” campaign, inspired by the original “Choose Your Weapon” ad featuring Larry Bird and Magic Johnson from the shoe’s 1986 debut release as a performance basketball sneaker. There’s one noticeable difference between the ads, separated by nearly 40 years: In the throwback, Bird and Johnson are wearing basketball uniforms; in today’s, SGA is rocking streetwear.

That’s because the Converse Weapon is being marketed around an athlete as a lifestyle sneaker, not a performance model, officially for the first time in brand history. The re-envisioned shoe dropped before the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, where the 25-year-old SGA will be an All-Star Game starter for the first time. Fittingly, the Weapon originally debuted during All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis in 1986. 

“We said, ‘Hey, no one is gonna wear these on the basketball court. Those days are over,’” Foster recalled. “So, how do we now launch it in the sense of fashion, and in a way you could show the consumer how you could really style it?”

For the past couple of years, Foster and Converse’s product team have been working to perfect the Weapon’s storied silhouette to the original specifications of the 1986 model while revamping the materials for everyday lifestyle comfort.

“The shoe you would’ve worn back in the day had a lot of cement and no real cushioning,” Foster said. “We wanted to make sure we had the lightest foams possible. We even looked at a lot of running foams to make it more comfortable. And then, it was about just really pouring out some of the rubber, so it’s not as heavy on your feet.”

The process of revitalizing the Weapon was sparked two years ago by a random request from an unexpected collaborator — international fashion designer Rick Owens — to use the shoe as a canvas for a modern design.

“We started this journey with Rick Owens, an amazing fashion house that was like, ‘We’d like to take a stab at the Weapon,’” Foster said. “The shoe had been on ice for quite some time.”

“When we dropped the Rick Owens TURBOWPN, from there, it kind of sparked a conversation with the consumer,” Foster said. “We also started hearing from influencers. So, we thought, ‘We might have something here.’”

The success of the TURBOWPN led Converse to launch a series of Weapon collaborations in 2023 with respected streetwear brands — from Fragment to Undefeated and Kasina. Converse also slated an early 2024 return of the silhouette in its OG 1986 form. The brand specifically pinpointed SGA as the marquee headliner for its next Weapon campaign, especially as both his player and style profiles ascended in tandem throughout the past two NBA seasons.

Converse

The Converse Weapon in a black and natural ivory colorway.

Converse

The Converse Weapon in a vintage white, ash stone, and egret colorway.

Converse

The vintage white colorway of the Converse Weapon Ox.

Converse

The vintage cargo colorway of the Converse Weapon Ox.

“The one thing Shai did say as we were working on the Weapon was, ‘Keep the authenticity,’” Foster recalled. “Because SGA loves vintage, he was like, ‘Imagine you go into a garage sale, find a pair of shoes and the yellow’s cracking … keep that idea going.’ … So, from there, it was like, ‘If we’re gonna do this, what do we need to spend some time on?’”

First, Foster and the product team took a quick trip to C4 (“Converse Concept Creation Center”), which operates out of a nondescript building in Boston less than a mile from brand headquarters. In a hard-to-find, two-room space, Sam Smallidge works as the 116-year-old brand’s archivist, responsible for finding, cataloging, and storing Converse artifacts — primarily previously released and game-worn sneakers. 

“The team spent two days with our archivist Sam and basically looked at every iteration of the Weapon we’ve done before,” Foster said. “There were so many iterations of the shoe. A couple athletes wore different outsoles and toolings. So, it was like, ‘Which one was the original?’”

From the historic debriefing, Converse focused on two specific elements, both surrounding shape, for the revitalized Weapon design. The brand wanted to develop the optimal “last,” which is the final mold used to mass-produce a shoe and to create the sharpest toe-down, or toe box, for the shoe as possible. After cooking up approximately 20 iterations while working with ten different lasts, Converse finally broke through on what the brand considers the most accurate recreation of the 1986 model.

“We spent a lot of time on this version of the Weapon. Previously, we didn’t obsess over all the details like this time — the storytelling, how we wanted to launch, color-block and materialize the shoe,” Foster said. “This iteration is the closest to the original.”

Converse’s finishing touch on the 2024 Weapon arrived by picking the perfect leather. The brand’s product team tested different leathers and synthetic materials while examining those on multiple shoes, from Nike Air Force Ones to Air Jordan 1s and even New Balance 550s. For this latest version of the Weapon, Converse rolled with a leather called “Belissimo.”

“We upscaled a lot of our leather,” Foster said, “just to make sure it was nice and buttery looking.”

Exactly a year ago, while preparing to make his first All-Star Game appearance, SGA took the court in an early pair of the reimagined Converse Weapon — but only in practice. 

“Last NBA All-Star, I asked Shai, ‘How hard were you going?’ Do you think you could play in them? He said, ‘Yes.’ 

“We’re not recommending that, but you could probably play a quarter. Back then, this was a performance shoe, which is so crazy.”

In 2024, the Converse Weapon is a lifestyle shoe — on the feet of, and posters featuring, the flyest player in the NBA.

Yet, more drops meant more opportunities, especially for Black creatives and athletes with fresh and meaningful stories. And brands gave them the platform to tell those stories on the canvases of shoe silhouettes.

In big-picture news, the once-great rollercoaster relationship between Ye (the artist formally known as Kanye West) and Adidas finally came to an end, leaving rapper Travis Scott, who continues to dominate as both a Nike and Jordan Brand ambassador, as the highest-profile collaborator in the game. On the basketball court, the signature sneakers landscape in the NBA and WNBA continues to expand. The year also brought us Air, the blockbuster feature-length film surrounding sneakers.

Here’s a look at some noteworthy moments and stories representing our passion for the wild world of sneakers.

Fat Joe’s Forces finally hit retail

Amidst 2023’s yearlong celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, Nike rolled out a long-overdue, yet well-deserved, retail release for one of the biggest sneakerheads in rap history: Jose Antonio Cartagena, aka Bronx, New York-bred emcee Fat Joe.

The saga of hip-hop’s self-proclaimed “sneaker king” dates back to 2004, when Fat Joe’s rap collective, Terror Squad, dropped its smash single, “Lean Back,” and Joey Crack rocked a custom pair of pink and white Nike Air Force 1s in the video. Joe ultimately revealed that, for years, he secretly paid a Nike employee to design him special sample pairs of Forces without the brand’s official sign-off.

The rapper’s affinity to the Swoosh and Jumpman ultimately led to a longtime partnership with Nike, which, for nearly 20 years, has designed friends and family pairs of kicks exclusively for Joe. Nike, however, never officially sold any of the Terror Squad-branded Forces until this year’s widespread release of two AF1 models, in “Blackout” and “Loyalty” colorways, which feature TS and JC embroidered on each shoe.

After two decades of reppin’ Nike and Terror Squad on his feet, hip-hop’s sneaker king finally received his flowers in the form of Forces that everyone can now rock. Even Kamala Harris has a pair, which Fat Joe hand-delivered to the vice president on a visit to the White House. – Aaron Dodson

Everything’s for sale

Brands and boutiques are suffering due to the waning interest in purchasing sneakers and apparel. With less money in consumers’ pockets, a new pair of Dunks is lower on the list than it once was. Inventory stays on shelves longer, becoming less desirable each day. Smaller boutiques that take care to stock interesting new brands alongside the big names aren’t clearing their already thin margins, which leaves little money to invest in new products, and corporations who’ve neglected innovation for lazy collaborations and boring colorways pressure stockists when they are the reason the product isn’t moving in the first place.

Now, brands are left with no choice but to mark down the items. It’s especially pronounced this time of year when consumers are inundated with emails and ads across their social media feeds announcing deep discounts for Black Friday and beyond — sometimes as much as 70% off. Most of us could use a deal due to enduring inflation, slowing economic growth, and an ever-widening income inequality gap. This doesn’t even factor in brands marking up items absurdly high with the goal of putting them on “sale” later on (and still garnering a substantial profit), or the consumerist culture that encourages us to buy things that we don’t need and sometimes don’t even want, because they’re sold at a discount.

Sneakerheads will always buy sneakers, whether they need them or not. But buying something because you want it and buying something just because it’s on sale are two different things. Further interrogation of our purchasing habits, good faith pricing, and more opportunities given to young creatives leading the way in design and storytelling are the only things that can get us out of this sales death spiral. – Greg Whitt

Adidas moved on with Yeezy minus Ye

Kanye West made several anti-semitic and racist marks on social media, Paris runways, and television in 2022. His words and actions caused many of his big-name partners to rethink their relationship with the controversial rapper. Adidas dissolved its almost 10-year partnership with Ye in 2022, leaving more than 1.3 billion worth of unsold Yeezys in their factories. The company said restitching the shoes and selling them as something else felt dishonest while giving them away to those in need might give way to informal resales. They decided that selling what inventory they could and splitting the profits between themselves and groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change was their best move.

In May 2023, Adidas began selling their existing foam runners and new designs that the company and Ye designated for future release. Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden hinted at contractual obligations between his company and Ye when asked what, if any, profits the company owes Ye from selling his designed sneakers. Adidas expected future Yeezy sales to juice their earnings this year. The company didn’t divulge how much of the proceeds went to charity, but Gulden believes the company might write off the remaining $320 million of unsold products.

“There is no place in sport or society for hate of any kind and we remain committed to fighting against it,” said Gulden. The company did its best in a bad situation by taking care of its financial obligations while spreading wealth around in the process. – Marcus Shorter

Anthony Edwards is a signature sneaker star in the making

As the NBA gets younger by the year, so have the faces headlining the league’s signature sneaker lines. Only four players over age 35 — LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Stephen Curry — still have an active signature line. By comparison, there are currently 10 NBA players 25 years old or younger with a signature sneaker, including Jayson Tatum, Ja Morant, Austin Reaves, Devin Booker, Scoot Henderson and Anthony Edwards, all of whom received their debut shoes in 2023.

Out of that group, 22-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards just might be the most exciting young signature headliner in the league. Adidas officially released the AE1 on Dec. 16, after first unveiling Edwards’ debut shoe this past summer at a special event in his hometown of Atlanta. With a sleek, futuristic silhouette and vibrant orange-cream lead colorway, the AE1 is it.

Adidas also hasn’t hesitated to showcase the charismatic, confident and country persona of the brand’s newest signature basketball athlete. During the first week of the NBA season, the brand dropped a 45-second spot featuring footage of Edwards pulling out pairs of fellow NBA players’ shoes. One by one, Edwards tosses each shoe aside before the video ends with his bold proclamation: The AE1 is the best signature shoe in the NBA. “You know how I know?” Edwards says in the commercial. “Because they mine … Believe that.”

Honestly, Ant and Adidas might be a match that’s built to last. – Aaron Dodson

The Midwest made moves

The Midwest put New York City and California on notice in 2023. And they did so by keeping their culture and cities firmly at the forefront of every move they made. 

Rick Williams’ love for Detroit bled through his Puma Suede design in tribute to rap trio Slum Village and the city they call home. To Williams, T3, Baatin, and J Dilla are just as important to hip-hop as they are to Detroit. 

Matt Tomamichel saw several years of hard work and sacrifice culminate in a collaboration with Jordan Brand for the Corporate Air Ship. Inspired by Cincinnati, a 2003 Toyota Corolla, and Tomamichel’s sneaker boutique, the shoe has its own flavor.

Then there’s Chicago’s Joe Freshgoods. The Chitown native connected with Vans for a footwear and apparel capsule inspired by The Negro Motorist Green Book, and built on his relationship with New Balance. Freshgoods expanded New Balance’s reach with his version of the 610 hiking shoe, reimagined the 650 basketball sneaker in the image of Michael Jordan, and refashioned the 990v4 as an homage to Hype Williams’ Belly. If there’s anything that says sneaker culture and hip-hop are intertwined, it’s dedicating a shoe to a movie starring DMX, Nas, and Method Man.  

Besides their Midwestern roots, Tomamichel, Williams, and Freshgoods share a passion for their hometowns. The Puma Suede and the Corporate Air Ship have their respective cities stitched into the fabric. Freshgoods centered his marketing campaign for the 650s around the Jumpman silhouette that put Chicago on the sports map in the 1990s. More than fashion statements, these kicks double as mini history lessons. 

The creative voices emerging from looked-over cities sound different enough from their counterparts on the coasts that shoe companies must pay attention. 

The Midwest got something to say. – Marcus Shorter

Ja Morant’s Nike signature sneaker survives

Few players in the NBA possess the athletic prowess of Ja Morant, arguably one of the brightest young stars on the court today. However, his off-the-court actions threatened to derail his first Nike signature sneaker before it could reach retail.

In December 2022, Nike confirmed Morant would join the ranks of athletes with a signature sneaker and the Ja 1. “It’s something I dreamed of and wanted all along,” Morant said in advance of the line’s release. “Finally, I got it.” The launch colorway, dubbed the “Day One,” sold out immediately in April.

Then came trouble. Two gun videos on Instagram Live in three months ultimately led to Morant being suspended eight games near the end of last season and then serving a 25-game suspension to open the 2023-2024 NBA season.

For its part, Nike stood behind the two-time All-Star. “We will continue to support him on and off the court,” the company said in a statement after Morant’s most recent suspension was announced. Even without Morant on the court or present in marketing campaigns, each subsequent Ja 1 colorway — of which there have been nearly 25 — sold out via Nike.com.

Morant made an immediate impact when he returned to the court this month. He wore a simple white and yellow Ja 1 while Nike released the “Xmas” pair online earlier the same day.

As it stands, Morant serves as the future of the brand in basketball. He’s the only Gen Z signature athlete on the roster as LeBron James and Kevin Durant enter their careers’ late stages. But, if Morant wants to see his line succeed like theirs, he’ll have to stay on the court to make that happen. – John Gotty

Jordan retros fading out of popularity

Retro models selling out has been a reliable outcome for Jordan Brand and its Nike mothership for many years. However, some eyebrow-raising data from the resale market asks whether that trend will continue. Reuters recently reported that the average premium paid on new releases of Nike’s Air Jordan 1 Retro High plummeted from a record high of 61% in 2020 down to 4% in 2023. That’s the difference between paying $100 over the retail price to less than $10 extra.

In addition, anecdotal data has proliferated across social media showing models that were expected to be coveted still on shelves long after the release date for the retail price and, in some cases, on sale. As I write this, the Jordan II “Origins” model is available on Nike.com in a wide array of sizes, a handful of the latest Air Jordan 5 x A Ma Maniére collaborations are still waiting for a good home, and the “Gratitude” colorway of the Jordan XI remains available, too.

Sneakerheads often bemoan the existence and influence of the resale market. However, it’s hard to deny the utility of monitoring the resale values of sneakers as a way to track both broader trends and the popularity of specific models. Nike and Jordan Brand remain extremely popular, but the rocketship growth pattern of the past several years appears to be slowing down. – Greg Whitt

Jae Tips and Saucony made noise

Every year, footwear experiences a new person or group who manages to cut through all the noise with standout products. 2023’s person is Jae Tips.

Tips collaborated with Saucony on three well-received shoes — the wildly colorful “Remember Who Fronted” Grid Azura 2000 and two Grid Shadow 2s for the “What’s the Occasion?” pack, released in May and December, respectively. But Tips didn’t blow up out of thin air. He’s worked for years as a rapper and later a frequent Hat Club design partner to build a following that supports his work. Bringing that community with him, Tips provided a level of fanfare we’re not accustomed to associating with Saucony sneakers. It was the kind of attention brands yearn for when they work with collaborators. Now that he’s on the radar of more fans and footwear brands, hopefully, Tips can maintain the momentum in 2024. – John Gotty

James Whitner accused in money laundering scheme

James Whitner, owner of The Whitaker Group, and his brands/boutiques A Ma Maniere and Social Status are best known for releasing high-quality sneakers and apparel informed by thoughtful storytelling and attention to detail. Whitner also uses his stores to sell some of the dopest Jordan collaborations and as hubs for innovation and community engagement. That’s why the news of a federal investigation against the Pittsburgh native shocked sneakerheads and industry watchers alike. According to court filings, federal officials allege Whitner was involved in a money laundering scheme to the tune of $32 million.

The alleged scheme involved a plan to receive payments for improperly reselling shoes and apparel to Chinese sellers over five years. Some of those goods include what court documents describe as ones from an “Oregon-based sneaker company.” Soon after the allegations were made public, Whitner denied any wrongdoing via a statement, calling the accusations “unfounded, unrelated to our business or this community, and unjustified.”

So far, Whitner has not been charged with a crime. And he’s done tremendous work in centering Black people in many of his efforts. However, if these allegations are true, it might make some look at Whitner and his work in a different light. Until then, we should reserve judgment and wait for the facts to come out. – Greg Whitt

Eastside Golf paid homage to Black golfers of the past

Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl A. Cooper saw an opening in golf fashion and sewed it up. Literally. Their Eastside Golf brand, built on their shared passion for the sport, speaks specifically to Black Americans who want to hit the links without sacrificing style. Their partnership with Michael Jordan paid dividends this year as they released their third Jordan Brand collaboration, the “Change. 1961” collection.

Eastside’s latest collection draws its name from the year the PGA lifted its “Caucasian-only clause,” which is a historical fact some would like to forget. Ajanaku and Cooper released a shoe designed to raise pulses and engage with the sport’s checkered past. Anyone who watched Grails, Eastside’s 2022 Hulu docuseries, knows the business partners believe their status comes with great responsibility. As far as Eastside is concerned, reminding the golf world about pros like Bill Spiller is necessary.

Eastside Golf is the game’s present and future, but none of that matters if they let anyone, especially the PGA, forget its recent past. – Marcus Shorter

Kyrie Irving’s sneaker free agency ends with Anta

It’s been a year since the messy breakup between Kyrie Irving and Nike ended the eight-time All-Star and NBA champion point guard’s longtime endorsement deal and successful signature sneaker line with the Swoosh.

The partnership between Irving and Nike — which started during his rookie season in 2011 and yielded the design of eight signature models — began to sour in the summer of 2022 when Irving posted a photo on social media of the then-upcoming Kyrie 8 and blasted the shoe. “I have nothing to do with the design or marketing,” Irving wrote. “In my opinion, these are trash!” Initially, Nike suspended Irving’s endorsement deal, which expired on Oct. 1, 2022, and scrapped the release of the Kyrie 8 before the relationship reached an even more controversial crossroads when Irving posted a link to a book and film that featured antisemitic messaging. After company co-founder Phil Knight publicly condemned Irving’s actions, Nike officially terminated the partnership, though Irving’s agent deemed the decision a mutual parting of ways. Instantly, Irving became the NBA’s most sought-after sneaker free agent, having spent the past decade-plus steering the designs of one of the most respected and worn signature lines in all of basketball.

This past summer, Irving signed a new, five-year endorsement deal with Chinese footwear company Anta. And in September, the brand unveiled a signature logo that will be featured on his first shoe, scheduled to debut in 2024. Irving will join Golden State Warriors star and four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson as the only two players in the NBA with signature shoes designed by Anta. – Aaron Dodson

Union creates this year’s most unique Air Jordan 1

Beth Birkett Gibbs and Chris Gibbs have woven their love of design, fashion, and each other into a beautiful tapestry that includes two children, a Los Angeles boutique and in-house brand called Union, creative incubator Bephie’s Beauty Supply, and a string of some of the most sought after Nike collaborations in history (the Union 180s from the 2005 Clerks pack remain my white whale). Their most recent collaboration with Jordan Brand on the BBS Air Jordan I encapsulates Chris and Beth’s relationship and the influences that tie them together in one of the most unique sneakers of the year.

The accompanying marketing campaign featured the couple’s son and his girlfriend and harkened back to when Chris and Beth met in the summer of 1996. The sneaker’s design nods to the Air Footscape’s woven details, representing two people weaving their lives together and their Caribbean ancestry. Beth’s Jamaican roots, in particular, influence the design by reflecting some of the handwoven clothing and wicker furniture seen in her home and community in her youth. The color palette speaks to the passing of time and feels inspired by the couple’s pre-gentrification Brooklyn origin story. But the kinetic green and university gold hits bring the design firmly into the present and beyond. 

With some sneakerheads lamenting the lack of innovation and creativity in collaborations over the past few years and an unusual number of Jordans remaining on shelves, Beth and Chris’ Union stands out as the source of a seemingly endless fountain of creativity and one of the most reliable collaborators in fashion. – Greg Whitt

Air — an ode to a Black mother

A few years ago, ESPN’s 10-part docuseries The Last Dance delivered a major revelation about how Michael Jordan first signed with Nike in 1984 — and, ultimately, emerged into “Air Jordan.”

MJ’s mother — Deloris Jordan — was the real MVP in the sneaker endorsement courtship of her then–21–year–old son ahead of his rookie NBA season. And Mama J made sure young MJ — who initially wanted nothing to do with Nike — took a meeting with the Beaverton, Oregon-based sportswear company.

A Black mother’s role in, perhaps, the single most important decision made in sneaker history is the driving force of Air: Courting a Legend, the Amazon Studios feature film that hit theaters on April 5. Before filming, Jordan told director Ben Affleck that he only wanted one actor to portray his mother in Air: Oscar-winner Viola Davis.

Davis accepted the role and delivered in her portrayal of the woman behind the most colossal figure in the history of sneakers.

Don’t be surprised when the Academy Awards nominate Air for Best Picture. And Davis had better be in the running for Best Actress. – Aaron Dodson

Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear of God Athletics had a rough initial launch

Adidas and Jerry Lorenzo’s new label, Fear of God Athletics, finally launched its first capsule collection this year, and the feedback wasn’t the best. The release arrived after a few years of gestation, which left people wondering what the hold-up was. When it was finally released, nothing about the products made the wait appear worthwhile.

The apparel wasn’t a substantial departure from what already exists with Lorenzo’s two other lines, Fear of God and Essentials. However, $300 ponchos, $350 hoodies and $600 car coats are likely more than the average Adidas customer might want to dish out. And those who did purchase the clothes voiced complaints about the fit, which helped shape the initial online reception.

All the fuss for the apparel overshadowed what wound up being a decent trio of footwear in the ’86 Low, Los Angeles Runner, and One Model — plus a modernized version of the Adilette slide. The three sneakers all pulled elements or complete silhouettes from Adidas’s extensive archive, then modernized them through slimmer shapes, upgraded materials, and colors aligned with Lorenzo’s signature muted color palette.

Anyone hoping Lorenzo could fill the Kanye-sized gap at Adidas was left waiting for now. Hopefully, Lorenzo can release Fear of God Athletics collections more frequently now that he and Adidas have worked out the kinks that held up the first drop. – John Gotty

Hip-hop is 50 years old. An old soul that defined many lives. But the beauty of hip-hop is that it’s also just beginning. While much of the conversation this anniversary year has focused on the genre’s foundational moments, we often shortchange more recent parts of its history.

The last decade of hip-hop has been highly criticized, as youth movements often are. The kids have been called out for “mumble rap,” charts skewed by streaming, and a perception by some OGs that the new generation of stars lacks the same artistry as the people who came before. But dismissing the great music of the past decade is a disservice to a fifth of hip-hop’s history and some truly transcendent work.

The past 10 years have given us classic albums, game-changing moments, a Pulitzer Prize winner, diamond-level singles sales and new household names. It’s given us Jay-Z’s most introspective album, female MCs such as Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion crashing through the glass ceiling, Drake’s chart-topping dominance, the record-breaking feats of Lil Nas X and young visionaries like Rae Sremmurd and Lil Baby.

To celebrate these late-generation greats, we’ve put together the new rap canon: the 25 albums from the past 10 years you can’t leave out when talking about the history of hip-hop. The albums are influential, culture-shifting works that will continue to influence for years. So, ignore the haters. Because rap is in good hands.

2013

Chance The Rapper — Acid Rap

Acid Rap, the second mixtape from Chance The Rapper, is the last gem of the era of the audio platform DatPiff. He meets the world fresh off the edge of his debut mixtape 10 Day and with a few tours under his belt. The poet from the West Chatham neighborhood in Chicago with everything to prove knits together a bold tapestry of his life on Acid Rap. This time, he plays in the last breeze of his high school adolescence with a blistering Chicago summer in the background and the high-energy jazz scatting of a thrill jockey in his inflections, making the 14-track mixtape stand the test of nostalgia.

The album is a hallmark in the lives of the first internet generation, who can state without hesitation where they were when they heard the mixtape for the first time, who they were with and who they fell in love with while listening to “Cocoa Butter Kisses” with the breeze of the last days of their youth in front of them. — Clarissa Brooks

2014

J. Cole — 2014 Forest Hills Drive

Jermaine Cole brought the world to Cumberland County, North Carolina, in 2014 with his third studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The prince of Fayetteville returns home after chasing dreams in New York City, with the victories and scars to show for it. Opening with the trio of “Intro,” “January 28th,” and “Wet Dreamz,” we meet J. Cole ready to proclaim himself judge, jury and executioner of his autobiography. Those three songs alone segmented J. Cole as a legend of his craft not by his self-proclamation but through his sharpened production. The true heat of the album arrives on “Fire Squad,” “G.O.M.D,” and “No Role Modelz,” where the chaos-hungry J. Cole parades around his hometown asking for all the chaos he can get his hands on. 2014 Forest Hills Drive reflects the times in the most honest sense, created by a young and humble laborer of rap willing to share the mythology of his teenage years in a city that made him. — Clarissa Brooks

Nicki Minaj — The Pinkprint

It’s beautiful when an artist finds a way to put it all together. When Nicki Minaj dropped her third studio album, she was fully comfortable with her total package. The flow was crisp. The visuals were confident. The song structure was hit-making mastery. “Anaconda” was undeniable. The same goes for another bonus track “Truffle Butter” and the intoxicating “Only.” Minaj had already reached superstar status when The Pinkprint came out. But this album enhanced her catalog with what may be her most complete work and a reminder that all these rappers are her sons. — David Dennis

​​Isaiah Rashad — Cilvia Demo

Top Dawg Entertainment was the West Coast record label that birthed stars such as Kendrick Lamar. Isaiah Rashad would be the label’s first foray into the South. He delivered a defining debut album about Southern pride, his complicated relationship with his father, insecurities and addiction. The album is an ode to Southernness with songs such as “Brad Jordan” and “Webbie Flow (U LIKE),” but it’s “R.I.P. Kevin Miller” (a reference to Master P’s deceased younger brother) that is his opus. “If I die today, b—- my legacy is straight / I’m the best they never heard” is the album’s thesis. This is an artist secure in his greatness and understanding that it might not translate to mainstream success. It doesn’t matter: He’s still going to shine. Cilvia brought Top Dawg Entertainment to the South. It brought Rashad to the collective consciousness. And it charted a new path for what a Southern classic could look like. — David Dennis

2015

Future — Dirty Sprite 2

Understanding just why Future’s Dirty Sprite 2 commands the adulation it does is to understand the groundwork laid before it. From the fall of 2014 to roughly the spring of the next year, Future’s output was Gucci Mane-like. Monster, Beast Mode and 56 Nights were street scriptures. By the summer of 2015, all Dirty Sprite 2 did was live up to the incredible buzz its predecessors had paved. It didn’t.

With Dirty Sprite 2, Future laughed in the face of hype, spit lean in its face and proceeded to lap it twice without breaking a sweat.

Dirty Sprite 2 is Future’s toxic magnum opus. Drenched in a dystopian worldview, whatever commercial sensibilities he had following his second album, Honest, he abandoned them here. Yet the darker his music became, the more Future’s star power began to shine. He starts the album boasting, “I just f— your b— in some Gucci flip-flops.” His topic range doesn’t experiment much past sex, drugs, money, and being the guy who claimed “B— I’m getting the same money as Cam Newton … Ask me how it feel to be a millionaire.” Future didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel here. He just tricked out the ride into an intergalactic spaceship of top-tier debauchery.

Only one featured artist is on the album — a Drake appearance on “Where Ya At?” That’s intentional, as the two would drop their joint project, What a Time To Be Alive, a month later. But on Dirty Sprite 2, Future was a man lost, obsessed with his redemption arc. His pain proved to be his fuel. His private life was becoming increasingly public, partly by his own doing — “Best thing I ever did was fall out of love,” he lamented on “Kno The Meaning.” Rarely over the last decade have we seen a rapper thrive in his darkness like this. Not everyone in rap can play the villain role and still be endearing.

It’d be unfair to label the album “soulless.” There’s a ton of soul throughout the album — just not in the way we’ve been conditioned to view “soul music.” On Dirty Sprite 2 lives the battered, bruised and nearly unrecognizable soul of a man who finds peace in capitalistic conquest, sex as a weapon and codeine-laced escapades that help shift one warped reality to another.

Ask most people about Future’s future following his breakout feature on YC’s 2011 hit “Racks on Racks.” Chances are it wouldn’t have warranted inclusion on a list like this. In 2023, with a prolific catalog separating him from many of his peers, Future ranks as one of the most influential rappers.

Dirty Sprite 2 might not be a perfect rap album. But it is, without question, the perfect Future album. — Justin Tinsley

Rae Sremmurd — Sremmlife

It was easy to dismiss Rae Sremmurd when they popped up with the loud, minimalist “No Flex Zone.” Sure, they were two Bow Wow-sized kids from Mississippi who had made one hit, but where was the longevity? Sremmlife established Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi as bona fide hitmakers. Especially Swae Lee. Every hook on this album is infectious. Every melody gets in your bones and refuses to leave. Try to listen to “No Type” and “Come Get Her” without singing the hooks the rest of the day. This is how you prepare the world for streaming chart domination. — David Dennis

Kendrick Lamar — To Pimp a Butterfly

What other words are there for To Pimp a Butterfly? It’s one thing when an artist creates an album that defines an era; Kendrick Lamar did it twice. More impressively, he did it back to back. Miami Heat president Pat Riley would be proud. To Pimp a Butterfly became music for a movement in 2015 as it wrestled with Black power, police brutality, mental health, community relations, and Black identity, just as those topics became more relevant to the whole country. Lamar tapped into the inner turmoil from his newfound stardom, along with a healthy dose of survivor’s guilt. For better or worse, a lot of us felt the same way. Mos Def once said that hip-hop reflects whatever we are at that moment. No album captures a sense of time, place, and truly reflects the audience like To Pimp a Butterfly. — Marcus Shorter

Young Thug — Barter 6

Young Thug played with sound, time and phantoms on his commercial mixtape debut, Barter 6. As Jesse McCarthy stated in Notes on Trap, “[Young Thug] insists on being the soloist and chorus all at once; his is an orchestral impulse, a surround sound lyricizing every inch of space on the track.” The 2015 release was fresh off the heels of the Cleveland Avenue MC’s disavowal of Lil Wayne as his mentor after years of fawning over him.

Barter 6 is full of songwriting genius that overshadows Young Thug’s public persona and mysticism. Whether it be the melody-rich opener “Constantly Hating” featuring Birdman that enters the mind of a man uninterested in the rules of anything. With tracks such as “Halftime” and “Just Might Be,” he tunnels through a world of yodels, hooks and time elasticity that pieces itself together before your eyes. The album’s lead single, “Check,” which for many is their first interaction with Young Thug’s music, has never played well with the norm. It sounds different from anything and anyone. The lyricism and delivery are one of one. And the replay value is undeniable. Such would become the calling cards of its unorthodox composer. — Clarissa Brooks

Drake — If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late

On the eve of Valentine’s Day 2015, Drake surprise dropped If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late — a 17-track stopgap mixtape released while the Canadian rapper recorded his anticipated fourth studio album, Views From The 6 (2016).

Yet, on Too Late, Drake transforms into the antithesis of the singing lover boy who had risen to rap’s peak. The project delivers Drake’s “6 God” alter ego, who preaches on fame, lust and legacy, thoughts all manifested through obvious anxiety. Drake notably samples Ginuwine’s 1999 song “So Anxious” on two tracks. Too Late also includes features by Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, and PartyNextDoor, the catchy “running through the 6 with my woes” hook, and contemplations of death, retirement and love lost. As he did in So Far Gone in 2009, Drake “dropped a mixtape that sounded like an album” with Too Late, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. — Aaron Dodson

2016

Travis Scott — Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight

The beauty of Travis Scott’s second studio album begins with its title, which is deeper than an homage to a revered R&B singer.

“[Birds] is basically about all my friends and growing up in [Houston],” Scott told Billboard. “I’m not saying that it’s the trap — we not in the f—ing projects but it’s a social trap … from what you want to do and how you want to express yourself.”

Birds is a sonically intoxicating, 14-track masterpiece, highlighted by cosigns from creative greats. In the intro, Andre 3000 confesses memories of the Atlanta child murders before Kid Cudi hums on “through the late night,” and Kendrick Lamar kills “goosebumps.” Then, there’s the smash, “pick up the phone,” featuring Young Thug and Quavo, who croons in auto-tune: “Birds in the trap sing Brian McKnight / Percocet and codeine, please don’t take my life.” — Aaron Dodson

Kanye West — The Life of Pablo

Essentially, this is a eulogy to the once-great music made by the artist formerly known as Kanye Omari West.

For the past two years, West has legally gone by “Ye.” And his last three solo studio albums, ye (2018), Jesus Is King (2019) and Donda (2021), all reached No. 1. Yet, these projects are mostly forgettable. His music in the past five years has shown only flashes of the artist who once delivered a 1990s Chicago Bulls-esque run of solo albums — The College Dropout (2004), Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and Yeezus (2013) — before he self-destructed.

So, it’s time we give flowers to the last great album from Kanye West — 2016’s The Life of Pablo.

At its core, The Life of Pablo is a hybrid rap and gospel album. “With a whole lot of cursing, but it’s still a gospel album,” West once called his seventh studio project, which he first announced in November 2013. The album was initially titled So Help Me God, then Swish, before West ultimately landed on The Life of Pablo. He’s never publicly confirmed which Pablo (Picasso, Escobar, Neruda, etc.) the album title refers to.

The magic of The Life of Pablo is that it wasn’t finished when the album finally dropped on Feb. 14, 2016. The final version of West’s stream of consciousness work of art didn’t officially land until June 2016. Recorded worldwide, from Hawaii to Canada to Mexico and Italy, The Life of Pablo credits a loaded collective of creatives, including producers Rick Rubin and Swizz Beatz, and Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and Frank Ocean.

The Life of Pablo opens with the angelic “Ultralight Beam,” featuring gospel singer Kirk Franklin and West’s fellow Chicago native, Chance The Rapper, who proclaims on the track, “I met Kanye West, I’m never going to fail.” Then, there’s “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1,” the beat of which drops perfectly to producer Metro Boomin’s tag, “If young Metro don’t trust ya, I’m gon’ shoot ya.” There are also unhinged cuts, led by “Famous,” on which West refers to his controversial interruption of Taylor Swift’s MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech in 2009. On the track, West refrains, “I made that b—- famous.” On “Feedback,” he says, “I’ve been out of my mind a long time,” before yelling, “Name one genius that ain’t crazy!” And on “Facts (Charlie Heat Version),” he trashes Nike, a former collaborator he left to design sneakers for its biggest rival, Adidas.

Above all, The Life of Pablo delivers the sentiment West acknowledges midway through the 20-track album: “I miss the ‘Old Kanye,’ ” he recites. Since 2016, West has strayed even further from the “Old Kanye.” And that does not disrespect his artistry or longtime battle with mental health. We’re also not overlooking the “slavery is a choice” tirade, his infatuation with former president Donald Trump, the violent antisemitism, or the strange workplace behavior he reportedly displayed at Adidas — among far more reasons most people have simply canceled Ye.

Whether West’s music ever returns to the enchanting feeling he delivered in the first decade of his rap career is just a hope for now. Until then, one notion must be acknowledged:

We miss The Life of Pablo Kanye. — Aaron Dodson

2017

Migos — Culture

The North Atlanta trio of Offset, Quavo and Takeoff, known as Migos, pumped out 12 mixtapes and a half-dozen hit singles, including their breakout hit “Versace,” which famously caught Drake’s attention. They endured public beef, jail time, and a reported robbery outside of a studio in 2013. And while Yung Rich Nation (2015), their first studio album, was respected, it undersold.

Then came Oct. 28, 2016 — the day Migos dropped “Bad and Boujee.”

One of the past decade’s best rap songs, “Bad and Boujee,” gave Migos momentum for their sophomore album, Culture, in 2017. At 13 tracks and no skips, Culture is the seminal work of Migos, which was disbanded in 2022 before Takeoff was slain in November 2022 at the age of 28. — Aaron Dodson

Jay-Z — 4:44

Before The Black Album dropped in 2003, Jay-Z called it the “bookend to the whole career.” Fourteen years later, he released the album that now lays claim to that designation. 4:44 builds on Jay-Z’s increasing openness with his audience and puts Shawn Corey Carter on a therapist’s couch. He lays bare his insecurities and shortcomings as a husband, father, and man. Sure, he dropped jewels on investing and buying property that the die-hards still swear by today, but that’s an appetizer for the main course.

Jay-Z killed his alter ego on the first song and spent the remaining time self-interrogating until finally rebuilding himself into someone better. The kid who bragged about being a player on 1996’s Reasonable Doubt became the man who apologized to his wife and promised her the world if it meant making him worthy of her love. That’s growth. — Marcus Shorter

2018

Cardi B — Invasion of Privacy

Hip-hop is in a panic over the fact that there hasn’t been a chart-topping rap song all year for the first time in 30 years. The genre is struggling to create new household names. It’s an unusual place for rap to be in.

All that seemed impossible in 2018 when Cardi B dropped her debut album, Invasion of Privacy. By the time it dropped, Cardi B’s lead single, “Bodak Yellow,” had already torn up the charts and clubs.

How undeniable was Invasion of Privacy? “I Like It” with J Balvin and Bad Bunny was the album’s second No. 1 song and its fourth single, and she became the first female rapper to achieve two No. 1s on a single album. She’d already followed up “Bodak Yellow” with “Bartier Cardi,” a gritty back-and-forth with 21 Savage, and the breakup anthem “Be Careful,” which had women losing their minds at parties.

Cardi B’s album checked all the boxes: relationship songs, club hits, international atomic bombs and tracks that would not go away. She has yet to release a follow-up and is still as big a star as she was half a decade ago. Cardi B’s great debut did as much for female hip-hop as any album in the 21st century. She stood on the shoulders of the iconic female MCs before and reminded us that women can stand above and beyond everyone else in the game by a wide margin. 2018 was Cardi B’s, and everyone else — men and women — was playing catch-up.

In the five years since, we’ve yet to see an album make someone the biggest star in the game and someone even your meemaw knew about. In 2023, when rap’s position in the mainstream is shakier than ever, Invasion of Privacy reminds us of what’s possible when a driven young star puts together a project that sets the industry on fire. — David Dennis

Nipsey Hussle — Victory Lap

Of all the entries on this list, The King of Crenshaw’s lone solo album is the most aptly titled. Victory Lap was more than a decade in the making. Nipsey Hussle worked closely with producers Mike & Keys and 1500 Or Nothin’, and his magnum opus sounds like the manifesto he always promised it would. Perfectly sequenced, curated and articulated, the Grammy-nominated rap scripture is the culmination of the late great Ermias Asghedom’s “marathon” ethos. — Justin Tinsley

Mac Miller — Swimming

“They told me it only gets better.”

That’s the eerie final line of the first verse on Mac Miller’s Swimming — the last album released by the Pittsburgh rapper before his life ended at 26 following an accidental drug overdose.

The 13-track Swimming is dark, depressing and, most sadly, foreshadowing. Yet, sonically and in sequencing, the album is hopeful and relatable, as Miller spits over jazzy tracks that feel like we were listening to a tormented artist learning to give himself grace. With Swimming, Miller also beautifully illustrates the musical evolution of his rap career, which he began in 2007 as Easy Mac.

Of his six studio albums — the last, Circles, dropped posthumously in 2020 — Miller’s most complete work is Swimming. If you listen closely to the 2018 album, which dropped precisely a month before Miller’s death, another theme is how much time we all have left. Musically, Malcolm James McCormick didn’t waste any. — Aaron Dodson

Benny the Butcher — Tana Talk 3

“Goodnight” is all that needs saying here. Benny the Butcher glides over Daringer’s production with hustler’s tales and tough talk that sounds poetic. Then, the Busta Rhymes sample comes in for the hook through DJ scratches as the cherry on top of a deliciously moody sundae. Tana Talk 3 isn’t the first album to come from Griselda, the New York rap collective of which Benny the Butcher is a part, but more than the others, it exemplifies what they do best. Daringer and Alchemist beats, features from the crew and extended family, all wrapped around a sole narrator with a perspective that makes you feel like you were right there on those blocks in Buffalo, New York, running missions, ducking cops and surviving street violence that would classify as a war in most cases. Benny the Butcher’s debut established his lane and further cemented the resurgence of boom bap that hasn’t slowed since the crew from upstate New York started its run. — Marcus Shorter

Megan Thee Stallion — Tina Snow

Megan Thee Stallion opened her 2018 debut album Tina Snow by saying, “First of all, I’m from Houston,” and what she was saying was, “What high school did you go to? And what’s your mama’s last name?” The distinctly Southern quality, making it clear who you belong to and where you are from, is critical to this album and Megan Thee Stallion’s work as a whole. Without understanding how Houston breathes, rides and eases into every sound, you might get lost trying to understand Megan Pete.

The story of Tina Snow begins with the 2017 freestyle that put the industry on notice of Megan Thee Stallion’s athletic artistry. She had just transferred to Texas Southern University as a rising junior when she filmed the “Stalli Freestyle.” Her bars took ears by storm with their directness (“Your favorite rapper only use onomatopoeias”).

On Tina Snow, Megan Thee Stallion introduces us to her world’s various personas. We meet Tina Snow, stylized after the late Pimp C, Megan Thee Stallion, the artist, at her most confident and, lastly, Hot Girl Meg, the life of the party who is about her business and pouring you a shot all at once.

We get Tina Snow with more than a pinky ring of bravado on tracks such as “WTF I Want,” “Neva,” and “Tina Montana.” We are met with the bubbly bars of Hot Girl Meg on “Hot Girl,” “Freak Nasty,” and “Big Ole Freak,” party anthems of sexual dominance where Megan Thee Stallion teaches her lovers the rules of her pleasure. We return to Megan The Stallion on “Good At,” “Cognac Queen,” and “Cocky AF.”

Acknowledging the work of Houston legends Lil Keke and Scarface, Megan Thee Stallion hits all the necessary boxes for a powerful debut project with club anthems, slow jam sex playlist classics and guttural “f— you n—as” music that soundtrack the lives of her fans in whatever way they see fit. — Clarissa Brooks

2019

NBA YoungBoy — AI YoungBoy 2

Every artist aspires to have that project that makes even the staunchest of critics eat humble pie. For NBA YoungBoy, as divisive and polarizing a rapper as we’ve seen in the 21st century, this is unquestionably his. On AI YoungBoy 2, standouts are a surplus (“I Don’t Know,” “Carter Son,” “Self Control”). There’s a Tupac Shakur-like sense of urgency here — almost as if NBA YoungBoy can see something the rest of us can’t. His lifelong trauma and paranoia produce one of the most uncomfortable yet endearing audio voyages of the last decade.

“The way I came in the game, the image that I had put out, they wouldn’t expect me to have feelings,” NBA Youngboy said on “Lonely Child.” “Know it probably don’t seem like it / That’s why they talk about me like I ain’t human, but we all is.”

NBA YoungBoy admitted struggling with how his graphic street narratives have influenced a generation. But on AI YoungBoy 2, it all comes together in the most neatly wrapped form of pure audio chaos. Looking to party? Find another project. Looking for gutting vulnerability mixed with loneliness and rage from a beloved antihero? Make sure you prepare yourself for what you’re about to hear. — Justin Tinsley

2020

Lil Baby — My Turn

2020 stank to high heaven for several reasons. Lil Baby bottled that emotion and gave it a voice on “The Bigger Picture,” which felt like a left turn for the Atlanta native not known for social commentary. Better than anyone at the time, he expressed sadness, anger, and frustration over Black men and women getting killed by cops, along with the crumbling state of race relations. “The Bigger Picture” spoke to this current generation the same way “Fight the Power” and “Alright” spoke to earlier times. But while Chuck D seemingly provided solutions and Kendrick Lamar made a declarative statement, Lil Baby wasn’t sure what to do. Most of us probably related to that helplessness. Rappers rarely show their vulnerability. Supreme confidence is necessary for the genre. Lil Baby said “nah” to all that posturing and did the thing hip-hop always prioritized: Keeping it real.

The song, along with the album as a whole, exemplifies what happens when rappers get the freedom to be human. My Turn showcased a more mature artist because he embraced the man behind the rap name.

Romance, anger, violence, sadness, heartbreak, and all of life’s contradictions get their time here. But it never felt dull or overwrought, he kept everything light and fun. That’s a high-wire act that takes a lot of skill. Lil Baby enlisted Future, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, 42 Dugg, and even a young Rylo Rodriguez to help along the way, and they never upstaged him. No one enlists all those feature artists just to have fun. Lil Baby made it clear he feared no one on that microphone. It’s possible he asked for featured artists to show how much his skills had grown between albums. Lil Baby said the album’s title comes from him feeling like everyone else had their turn. To paraphrase a famous wrestler, their time was up.

So, we got features, artistic growth, and a song that became the song. Oh, and top-tier rapping. The other thing that earns My Turn a spot on this list is that the album established a new school. 42 Dugg, Rylo Rodriguez, and Gunna got their biggest stage to date, creating a hunger for more. Yeah, the moment belonged to Lil Baby, but others ran with the moment and three years later, it’s now their turn. — Marcus Shorter

Freddie Gibbs — Alfredo

Freddie Gibbs didn’t see a Grammy invitation in his future, much less a nomination. Alfredo proved him wrong. The album provided calm in a year marked by turmoil and carved Gibbs’ name in every top rapper list on this or any other planet. Alfredo also stands as one more reason on an incredibly long list for producer Alchemist’s hall of fame candidacy. He meshes with almost everyone, but this album taps into something more sinister and cinematic. From the album title to the cover art, Gibbs and Alchemist created their mob tale that met the moment. Gibbs’ brand of braggadocio and introspection felt appropriate for an artist entering the next stage of his career and staking his claim as one of rap’s current greats. — Marcus Shorter

2021

Tyler, the Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost

Call Me If You Get Lost reminded anyone who forgot that despite his other artistic inclinations, Tyler, the Creator’s rap skills remain second to none. Maybe that’s why this album needed the narration of DJ Drama, whose brand starts and stops with rappers attacking beats and showing off. They talk their talk, and DJ Drama echoes everything they brag about. And Tyler, the Creator brags a lot on this album over production styles baked into hip-hop’s history. But everything is effortless. During an era where the rapping part of the culture sometimes takes a back seat to theatrics, Tyler, the Creator stripped all that away and took it back to the essence: One MC and a DJ telling everyone that there is no competition. — Marcus Shorter

Lil Nas X — Montero

“Old Town Road,” the debut single from Lil Nas X, became the first song in the 21st century to be certified diamond while holding the number one spot on Billboard. Lil Nas X followed it with Montero, dropping a cavalcade of hits that made him part of the proverbial water cooler conversation every time. Lil Nas X also kicked open doors for queer representation in hip-hop that has been, at best, resistant to queer artists and, at worst, a bastion of anti-gay bias. But no one could deny Lil Nas X. You’d be a fool to try. — David Dennis

2022

Vince Staples — Ramona Park Broke My Heart

With 2021’s Vince Staples and Ramona Park Broke My Heart in 2021, I wouldn’t fight much if someone argued that Vince Staples has the best body of work in the 2020s. Staples is a hip-hop renaissance man, a natural at whatever he embarks on — acting, thought-provoking interviews, commercials.

Ramona Park is an ode to his hometown: the good, the bad, the tragic and everything in between. Catchy records like “Magic” exist here, but what works so well is that the entire album reads like an ode to the concrete he thankfully survived. — Justin Tinsley

2023

Killer Mike — Michael

Killer Mike is one of the most polarizing figures in hip-hop. And he probably wouldn’t have it any other way. Mention his name, and you’ll either get eye rolls from people who rebuke his stance on the National Rifle Association and opinions on local politics, or you’ll get praise from people who believe he is speaking directly to them with his ideas on liberation. And there’s hardly ever an in-between.

While Michael tosses a lot of political javelins into the fray, the album is a unifier in that no matter who you voted for, you can identify with the central tenets of this electrifying body of work, namely, the grief Killer Mike experienced after losing his mother. “Shed Tears” and “Motherless” will close anyone with a pulse to tears as he grapples with the deep sadness of loss. But like any great preacher, Killer Mike won’t leave you in your sorrow. “Something for Junkies” is an ode to the forgotten, and “Talk’n That S—!” is an uplifting sermon from a proud Black boy from the South. Killer Mike dropped a gem with this project, whether you like what he says or not. — David Dennis

On Thursday, Nike unveiled the uniforms, which will be worn during the league’s inaugural in-season tournament, which tips off this Friday and will run until the championship game on Dec. 9.

“We are continuing the tradition of building between court, community and culture with all 30 teams on our City Edition platform,” said Nadia Roohparvar, the NBA’s team brand and product lead. “The City Edition uniforms will be worn on court during all NBA in-season tournament nights — a really great platform to showcase and highlight some of our really amazing City Edition work.”

Earlier this week, the NBA unveiled mockups of the court designs that each team’s arena will feature for the in-season tournament games, all inspired by the storytelling that went into crafting the uniforms.

“It’s truly amazing to see the growth of the City Edition program over the past seven seasons and how the majority of our teams have taken these stories and brought them to life in arenas through their court designs,” said Hallie Keselman, the equipment and team product lead for NBA events.

Ahead of the tournament, Roohparvar detailed the genesis of the City Edition uniform designs for eight teams — the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns.

Boston Celtics

“The Boston Celtics are one of the longest-standing teams in the NBA. This year, they’re going back to their roots, weaving together the history of the game and its creators. So, you’ll see a lot of different inspirations tying back to the origins of the game, even as far back as the 1890s, with the peach basket.

“That wood grain texture you see in the panel is reflective of some of the furniture makers and the iconic marks from that post-Reconstruction era in Boston. The belt buckle also features an old-school basketball with a clover inside.”

Chicago Bulls

“The Bulls are paying tribute to the first arena that they won their first three-peat in — Chicago Stadium, or as we call it, lovingly, ‘The Madhouse on Madison.’ ”

“Some visual inspiration ties directly to the architecture of the arena, first through the vertical Chicago that’s reflective of the sign fans would see when they walked into the stadium to go support their team that was winning championships back to back to back. That offset asymmetry is balanced on the left of the short with an enlarged diamond mark. Nike and the Bulls oversized that diamond and put within it a hand-painted bull.”

Denver Nuggets

“The Denver Nuggets are a team that literally sits above the rest at an altitude of 5,280 feet, or one mile above sea level. In the pursuit of their 2023 NBA championship, the Nuggets were very much leaning into this narrative, and fans were supportive of the altitude and attitude of that roster. The blue topographical line pattern of the mountains is inspired by their historical skyline rainbow jerseys.”

Detroit Pistons

“If you watched the Detroit Pistons in the late ’80s and early ’90s, you definitely know of the Bad Boys. That is what the team is harkening back to this year — the original Bad Boys mark, with the skull and the crossbones. You’ll also see some signals to Chuck Daly, who led them to their back-to-back championships in ’89 and ’90, through the CD2 mark and his signature below the jock tag.”

Golden State Warriors

“The Warriors are in their fifth season in San Francisco, and what better way to pay homage to their city than with the cable car? So, there is a lot of really cool detail here that ties back to the historic cable cars and even how you see them today in the Bay Area.”

“The San Francisco wordmark climbs up the jersey, in the same way you see a cable car climbing up the hills in San Francisco. Then, there’s a lot of trolley insignia in other places — above the jock tag, and on the short in the belt buckle placement, there’s the cable wheel itself. The fonts pull inspiration from the old route signs of the cable cars themselves.”

Los Angeles Lakers

“Los Angeles is the city of dreams, and their City Edition uniforms symbolize how those dreams and the team’s identity have evolved over the last six decades. The all-black uniform reflects when the team moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in the ’60s.

“There’s an LAL mark on the waistband, in the same triangular fashion that ties to their team name and ‘Leave a Legacy,’ which is the team’s tagline.”

Milwaukee Bucks

“Back when this uniform was being designed in the summer of 2021, the Bucks were in pursuit of their first championship in over 50 years. And so, we are excited to showcase this uniform as an homage to the Deer District and their fans that helped propel them to where they got in 2021.”

“The base color of the uniform is Great Lakes blue, harkening back to the lake landscape in Milwaukee. The splattered pattern is actually inspired by an aerial shot of the top of the fans’ heads in the crowd of the Deer District. So, it’s a really cool way to tie back to the fans and say thank you to them.”

Phoenix Suns

“Mexican culture runs deep in Phoenix, both off and on the court. And this year’s City Edition uniform for the Suns pays tribute to that culture, as well as the team’s Chicano fan base.

“The Valley uniforms for the Suns were fan favorites for the last couple of seasons. So, this year, they’re revamping it and showcasing the Valley in ‘El Valle.’ This uniform celebrates low-rider culture and the art of rolling bajito y suavecito, which means low and slow in English. In addition to the midnight purple base, orchid purple trim and the accents in turquoise piping, the valley-inspired gradient is featured in the numbers and side panel. Also in the side panel is an ornate trim and piping reflective of the low-rider cars the uniforms pay tribute to.”