Signature shoes are different these days, but they still matter

Basketball and footwear apparel have always had a special history – especially because sneakers aren’t just about personal style. They are, if you’ll pardon the poetic phrasing, canvases of personal expression.

So it’s no surprise that brands started endorsing players as early as 1921 (Chuck Taylor, anyone?). Today, some of the most well-known players with signature shoes are LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Allen Iverson – as well as Sabrina Ionescu, A’ja Wilson, Diana Taurasi and Caitlin Clark (whose forthcoming signature sneaker is part of her reported $20 million deal with Nike). The late Kobe Bryant’s shoes are also still in production. Many of the designs – like the Air Jordan – have become iconic streetwear, and are seen mostly off the court – as befits their street-inspired origins.

Why are signature shoes a thing?

Signature shoes offer consumers a link to their favorite competitors. They’re designed to showcase players’ styles and improve their performance on the court – while turning their fans into buyers. That’s why players often contribute to the design – which, according to Jordan Rogers, a sports marketing consultant and former Nike Basketball Brand Director for North America, “doesn’t happen overnight.”

According to an article Rogers has posted on LinkedIn, the process involves “sketching, designing, gathering a dedicated team, getting specific time with busy athletes, pulling a real story & inspiration, […] getting athlete feedback, allowing them real time to play in the shoe […].” In short: “It’s a lot.” The Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant agrees. “We put a lot of work into those shoes,” he says in an article in The Athletic. “It’s a big representation of who I am as a person. So for somebody to be representing me like that, it feels pretty cool.”

How athlete collaborations and authentic storytelling drive the popularity of signature sneakers

A’ja Wilson’s new signature shoe pays homage to her parents with Celtic symbols and features a quote by her late grandmother. Wilson, whom the New York Times calls ”the best player in the WNBA,” says in a press statement that the shoe is meant ”to [inspire] the next generation to give it their all on every play.” (The article, incidentally, calls her “something like the league’s on-court answer to LeBron James or Michael Jordan.”) And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was made creative director of Converse Basketball last year before getting to craft his own shoe, whose silhouette (according to Nike’s website) showcases his “approach to design, blending worlds to create a signature model that’s entirely original and uniquely him.”

The storytelling serves a purpose, of course. People buy signature shoes because they’re not just footwear. They’re style statements, fandom items and, yes, basketball fantasies wrapped in high-tech foam.

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adidas AE1

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Nike LeBron XXII

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Under Armour Curry 10s

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It’s not all fun and (basketball) games

However, the market is not without headwinds. For one thing, there’s oversaturation. “The market is flooded with numerous styles that critics say have all started to look too much alike,” writes Business of Fashion editor Daniel-Yaw Miller. He might be referring to the fact that brands have started to step on the “annual Air Jordan treadmill,” releasing an iteration each year. “There needs to be some disruption in the sneaker game because everything is kind of getting boring… The designs are getting lazy. There’s no creativity. There’s no authenticity,” the article quotes Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics as saying. Also, not all the models see the same success. Even former Nike employee Rogers admits, “The men’s signature shoe game is out of control.” And there’s only so much shelf space.

Second, basketball players are not the only superstars promoting sneakers anymore. Celebrities seem to be overtaking athletes as the most influential force in sneakers.

Yeezy (despite the end of the partnership with Kanye West in 2022, over his antisemitic comments) was for a long time one of Adidas’ most successful sneakers – although never as successful as the Jordan line. Nike, for its part, has in recent years partnered with musician Travis Scott, the late Virgil Abloh and Drake, to name just a few. Commercially, the resulting shoes tend to be more successful than their basketball-styled counterparts, although they are, of course, limited runs.

Third, basketball shoes are less of a streetwear influence than they used to be. It’s not technically a challenge, but the new signature shoes focus largely on performance – and while they might help players excel on the court (which is, you might argue, what they should be doing anyways), you don’t find a lot of kids running around in the Adidas AE 1 or the Nike LeBron 22.

Sneakerheads still yap about them, but GQ nicely sums up the current state of affairs: “the shoes that give hoopers an edge on the hardwood don’t often look cool when just lounging.” Or, as lifestyle mag Complex puts it, “[performance] isn’t what we’re here for, respectfully.” This has led to an interesting dynamic: fewer signature shoes on the streets – but more of them on the court.

You might even see an NBA player donning a pair of Curry 10s when playing against Stephen Curry himself. What’s more, a lot players showcase their support for their colleagues in the WNBA, with the Sabrina 2 being the second-most-worn shoe during the the 2024/25 NBA season.

That said, the fact that outlets like Highsnobiety, Hypebeast, Complex, GQ and ESPN  – not to mention countless sneaker-devotee sites and newsletters – report on them demonstrates that these shoes are far from irrelevance.

What next? Our takeaways

Authentic storytelling will become more important – as long as it’s not overdone. Perhaps no signature shoe will ever again reach the cultural relevance of the Air Jordan – because, let’s face it, there will never be another Michael Jordan – but the stories woven around shoes will matter more. The NBA (the history here is disputed) allegedly banned the first Air Jordan’s colorway, and Nike turned that into a legendary (if exaggerated) campaign: “On October 15, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On October 18, the NBA threw them out of the game. Fortunately, the NBA can’t stop you from wearing them.”

Nowadays, though it might seem a bit far-fetched, we have the Jordan Luka 4, which presents the player’s autobiography in sneaker form. Steph Curry’s Chef shoes, meanwhile, are supposed to reflect his precision and “kitchen” mastery on the court – and have reveived lots of mockery online, as well as criticism of its bleak design.

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Nike Sabrina 2

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Soaring TV viewership and a pipeline of standout college athletes have encouraged brands like Nike and Adidas to bolster their women’s basketball categories. And the shoes deliver.

In its 2024 earnings call, Nike revealed that Sabrina Ionescu’s signature Swoosh series had (amid the company’s sales struggle) grown “roughly five times” in revenue over the previous year. It was the second-most-worn shoe in the NBA last season (yes, you read that correctly). Moreover, the WNBA was the fastest-growing brand in professional sports in 2024, with 26 percent of US adults identifying as avid or casual fans of the WNBA. And the league comes with a new generation of superstars.

Caitlin Clark’s shoe is expected to drop this year, as is Angel Reese’s – Reese having signed a multi-year deal with Reebok. Given the standing of these two players and the fans’ alleged commitment to the WNBA, it’ll be interesting to see how well the shoes perform on the market.

New players are entering the market, too. New Balance, Under Armour, Li-Ning, Rigorer and Anta are notable competitors. Female owned Moolah Kicks (which designs shoes specifically for female players) hasn’t released a signature shoe just yet, but it has just teamed up with WNBA player Courtney Williams. The success of China’s Li-Ning, Rigorer and Anta points to another important dimension.

Southeast Asia is at present one of the most relevant sneaker marketplaces. Spending on sportswear per Chinese consumer, says a report by Front Office Sports, is growing fast, having doubled over the past decade. While Nike still holds the largest market share, these Chinese competitors are expanding.

Signature sneakers aren’t just relevant, they’re evolving. As markets shift, new trends emerge – and sometimes new faces, breathing fresh air into an age-old industry. Nike is expected to announce a shoe with Paige Bueckers, the first pick in this year’s WNBA draft and one of the league’s rising superstars. The Puma LaMelo is turning heads everywhere. And it’ll be interesting to see how the A’One performs, not just on the court but also in terms of numbers.