Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the biggest basketball stars for Nike today. He has been with the famous shoe brand since joining the NBA in 2013, and he already has five signature sneakers with them.
But did you know that the Milwaukee Bucks superstar originally had plans to sign with Adidas before his NBA career began? Speaking on the Thanalysis Show on Thursday, Giannis Antetokounmpo explained what happened in the negotiations with the famous German sneakers brand, and why his brother Thanasis played a pivotal role in why he changed his mind.
“He (Adidas rep) brought the contract and put it in front of me, and I’m like, ‘Okay great, where’s my brother’s?” Antetokounmpo shared. “And he was like, ‘We’re not going to sign your brother’s today. You’re going to sign yours and then we’re going to bring your brother in a week to sign this.’ And I was like, ‘Uh, no thank you.”
After turning down the Adidas offer, he met with Nike, and the rest they say, is history.
“It was my turn to speak and I said that it’s important for me for it to be a family thing,” said the two-time NBA MVP. “When you take me, you take my family, my brother, my mom. And she was like, ‘Yeah, sure, whatever.’ After that, we’ve been with Nike and she’s been by our side ever since.”
Adidas had another shot at recruiting Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo was slowly becoming one of the NBA’s top stars, so Adidas tried to woo him when he became a sneaker free agent in 2017.
That summer, the German brand sent a truckload of merchandise to the Greek Freak, including some Yeezys, which he posted on his Instagram Story that was quickly deleted.
It looks like adidas brought @Giannis_An34 a truck full of sneakers. 👀 pic.twitter.com/pdOkw9TWxF
— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) September 20, 2017
Adidas was not the only apparel giant who courted the Greek Freak, as Li-Ning and Nike also had big offers for Antetokounmpo.
But in the end, Nike won the battle again because they offered Giannis Antetokounmpo a lucrative pay raise and a signature shoe line that features the Zoom Freak and the Immortality series.
