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Proven to be the hottest sneaker free agent available this season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has a big decision to make coming into this training camp — choosing to remain with Nike or take his name and brand to competitors Adidas or Chinese brand Li-Ning.
The Milwaukee Bucks Swiss army knife is coming off his best season yet, leading the team in all five major statistical categories and showing glimpses of dominance during the team's first-round playoff appearance.
Yet Antetokounmpo will be looking to make all the bucks possible as the most coveted athlete on the market.
The Greek Freak had a long-running deal with Nike, stemming from his days playing in Spain, which carried over to the States once he was drafted by Milwaukee. While he mulls his options, Nike had a clause that gives them 20 days to match any incoming offer for Antetokounmpo.
“All those things are fun,” Antetokounmpo told Matt Velasquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It's fun to be a sneaker free agent.
“You get a lot of shoes and you keep a lot of shoes — I give a lot of shoes to my brothers. It's fun. My family going through that experience with me has been amazing. I want to thank everybody that tried to support me and my family, from Nike, from Adidas, from Li-Ning, all those people that are basically my family.”
The 6-foot-11, 222-pound All-Star forward recently received a truckful of Yeezys and many other of Adidas' best shoe models, as the company tried to woo him into being the next signature athlete and the first forward to have a signature shoe for the brand.
“I haven't decided yet, I'm not even close yet… I'm not in a rush right now, I'm just focusing on basketball.”
Antetokounmpo can net from $7 to $10 million per year in a sneaker deal, with the likely possibility of having his very own signature line coming out by the 2018-19 season.
