World Basketball Festival, Presented by Nike and USA Basketball

Tradition. Love. Innovation.

Converse. Jordan Brand. Nike.

Three brands, three themes, colliding in a massive celebration of the game that’s fueled them all - basketball.

Last week in New York, Nike announced the “World Basketball Festival” (“WBF”), a three day blowout set for August 12-15 in New York City. Three pivotal locations are tapped for events - Madison Square Garden, Times Square, and Rucker Park.

Most obvious is Madison Square Garden. “The World’s Most Famous Arena” plays host to two international friendlies ahead of the FIBA 2010 World Championships (taking place in Turkey from late August). The FIBA tournament provides the hook for the festival, as global interest in the game fuels competition and ignites passion. Games between the United States and France, and China and Puerto Rico, cap off the event.

Nike, Inc.’s partnership with USA Basketball comes clear in the games. Jerry Colangelo, director of USA Basketball, recognizes the increased importance of the World Championships, and the necessity of showcasing American attention to the global game.

With that notion, the events kick-off in Times Square, on a specially built full size court - bringing the global game to the center of New York, the epicenter of basketball. The national teams will run scrimmages and training sessions, their activities giving way to a public concert late on the evening. (We’re told a notable New York act will be playing).

Between that kick-off night and the concluding friendlies, community events will run at the revered Rucker Park. Home to some of basketball’s greatest legend, and currently the Entertainer’s Basketball Classic, the Rucker stands as the New York’s most famous blacktop court. In many ways, it is also the most important venue of the “WBF,” a location that will engage young players and promote the global future of the game.

The kick-off, more than just announcing the “World Basketball Festival,” allowed for an explanation of the place held by the three Nike, Inc. brands in the sport. The three chosen venues mirror the positions - each imbued with tradition, love, and innovation respectively.

Converse, with the longest tradition in basketball, now signifies the social and cultural roots of the game. From Chuck Taylor to Bird and Magic, the brand with the Chevron Star has lived and grown with basketball. The latest Converse shoe, the Star Player, incorporates new technologies and keeps a classic silhouette. In short, it works to hammer home the brand’s role in celebrating the lifestyle culture side of basketball.

Passion and love for the game fuels Jordan Brand. Mixed within the line are elements of lifestyle, culture, and performance. It’s a catch-all, but one that connects always back to the game and to the court. Their summer line includes the Jordan Outdoor - built with running shoe technology and an extra-protective toe guard - and a blacktop ready version of the Jordan 1 Alpha. Carolina blue informs the aesthetic - MJ’s roots linked cleanly through the color.

Lastly, innovation drives Nike’s basketball program, where performance rules supreme. An unlikely source of inspiration for the summer’s key sneaker - the Hyperfuse - comes from the courts of China. Designers found running shoes the preferred choice, a decision made in response to heat more so than performance. The key material, mesh, generated questions in the Nike Innovation Kitchen about how make the lightest and toughest shoes possible. Their response is a compound material that allows for an extremely lightweight and responsive shoe (just 12.5oz at size 9) with unprecedented support. The material also takes well to color. You might have noticed Rondo’s flash of green feet in the NBA finals, and if you haven’t you won’t miss the sneaker’s color potential during the FIBA World Championships. Lightweight performance follows through to uniforms as well, and each of the Nike international teams will compete in the lightest most quick drying kits to date.

Innovation generates new design focused on improving performance for elite players the world over.

“United We Rise,” the “WBF” theme, works on several levels. One, it connects all the associated brands. Two, it brings together the . Three, and most important, the slogan is forward looking.

The “World Basketball Festival” introduces the United States to the global game. It also acts as send off for the team heading into the FIBA World Championships. And, it inaugurates a new series of programs designed to maximize on basketball’s capacity to engage communities.

Tradition. Love. Innovation.

Three brands, three venues, three themes. Tied together, three strands that will help solidify basketball as with second global game. They have significance in all the great eras of basketball, and moving forward work together to elevate performance.

Read on for views of the international uniforms and the latest basketball designs from Converse and Jordan Brand.