In 2017, Nike took over the NBA’s uniform manufacturing from Adidas and since then, every team has worn the swoosh on its apparel. The Nike and NBA relationship seems like a match made in heaven as the American sportswear brand has long been worn by the Association’s top players from Michael Jordan to LeBron James.
While the NBA long had deals with Champion and Adidas, the two sportswear companies never had the impact on the league that Nike has – and had well before a contract was ever written up. Perhaps the biggest and most notable aspect of their relationship has been the Association’s changes on rules to do with uniform and footwear color. There was a time in the Association’s rich history that rules on the color of shoes, socks, and uniforms were overseen with an authoritarian’s (David Stern) like rule. Since Nike began making the jerseys for the league, those rules have been relaxed under commissioner Adam Silver.
Perhaps one of the most famous moments in the NBA came in 1984-85 when Michael Jordan’s famed Air Jordan I Nike shoes were banned by the league. According to Betway basketball, the shoes’ black and red color scheme violated the NBA’s 51% rule. The rule dictated that all players on a team had to wear the same color shoes and that 51% of each shoe had to be either black or white.
In the late 2000s, the NBA began to initially relax the shoe color rules allowing teams to wear sneakers that were “team color”. Therefore, the Boston Celtics could wear green shoes as long as 51% of each sneaker was green.
The sneaker rules continue to be relaxed giving players more ways to express themselves. During the 2016-17 season, James wore 51 different pairs of his signature Nike shoes.
So, why has the NBA relaxed its once strict rules on shoes? The main reason isn’t to give players more freedom to express themselves, but simply a way to look more appealing to fans and to make more money. In 2018, research found that over two-thirds of the NBA’s players wore either Nike shoes or sneakers from the company’s Jordan subsidiary. With all of the uniforms made by Nike, it makes sense that the league would allow players to wear a variety of shoe colors to help the footwear giant sell more sneakers. Thus, allowing Nike to pay more when their current contract expires.
The relaxed rules are also a way to engage fans more. There was a time when NBA teams only wore two uniforms during a season, home and away. The home uniform was always white while a darker color was worn on the road. Nowadays, NBA teams have a number of different uniforms to choose from for each game. In addition, teams are no longer forced to wear white for home games and can choose another color if they desire. The added number of jerseys and variety of colors give fans more choice when purchasing replica shirts.
Still, the NBA has rules on the shoes that can be donned by players. The Association’s executives must okay the footwear before players can lace it up and take to the hardwood. It took so long for the NBA to let players wear sneaker colors other than white or black. So, it could take even longer before the remaining rules are abolished.