Ordinarily, adidas is good. But suddenly, adidas Basketball is great. While the adidas Samba and Gazelle sneakers continue to dominate the streets, adidas Basketball is on the other side of the spectrum turning heads with its new (and old) basketball sneakers.
Whether you know what a point guard does or not, it’s not difficult to see the streetstyle appeal of these big, chunky basketball sneakers.
The newest release, the adidas Mad IIInfinity, only strengthens adidas Basketball's argument.
With an upper streamlined like a car chassis and no less hefty, the Mad IIIfinity looks like a space-age vehicle sans wheels. It looks utterly alien and, yet, because the debut black colorway is so urbane, it doesn't look unapproachable.
In fact, you could actually see these things being adopted by fashion-forward types just as easily as they'll work for hoopers. Can't say that about most of today's ball sneakers.
Of course, you can't discuss renewed interest in adidas' basketball sneakers might be traced back to the 2023 release of the Crazy IIInfinity sneakers, a futuristic riff on Kobe Bryant’s Crazy 1s released all the way back in 1997.
The Crazy IIInfinity has a sleeker look to it than the Mad IIInfinity, giving it almost a slip-on appearance that's reinforced by metallic, neutral-toned colorways and limited branding aside from the occasional teeny Three Stripe logo here.
There’s even a covetable pair of offered with Lakers purple and gold, in homage to the fact that its legacy is rooted in Kobe’s Crazy 1s.
adidas Basketball then produced a series of ads with main man Anthony Edwards to promote his new signature shoe.
The ads are cheeky, fun, light, and center around an objectively gifted young player wearing an objectively solid-looking sneaker.
This is what a successful basketball product launch looks like.
And, recently, Kendrick Lamar wore a pair of vintage adidas basketball sneakers to Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show. He’s not the first celeb to rock a pair of basketball sneakers to the runway but it was a subtle signal that adidas basketball sneakers, new and old, are so, so hot right now.
With the re-release of Kobe’s Crazy 8 sneakers, now sporting some modern tweaks, there's even more renewed interest in his original collab with adidas back in the early aughts.
Vintage pairs run anywhere from a couple of hundred bucks to almost $5,000.
Most people think of Nike when they think of basketball shoes, probably because there's no more famous player to the layman than Michael Jordan.
But between Kobe’s ironclad legacy and everyone looking for the next, new It Sneaker, adidas basketball sneakers are in the right place at the right time.
They haven't crossed over to mainstream success just yet but give it time. adidas Basketball's era is now.
