The battles didn't just happen on the court during the NBA's opening night. They were also happening behind the scenes and on social media between Nike and Adidas, two long-time rivals. After LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of the NBA's opening night, Nike took a thinly veiled shot at Adidas.

“Still the King. No lies detected.,” the post read, referencing Adidas's lie detector advertisement featuring Edwards. In the spot, Edwards takes a lie detector test in the ad and answers several basketball and sneaker-related questions. When the young T-Wolves star says his signature sneaker — which Adidas can’t seem to decide to call the AE 1 or Anthony Edwards 1 — is the best in the game, the lie detector confirms the integrity of the response.

However, when he says a younger player could take his place, the machine cries foul. The lie detector returns to straight lines when he says he’s the top dog, regardless of his lack of consideration for MVP last season.

James put up 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Edwards had 27 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Bronny James, LeBron’s son, was held scoreless in his NBA regular season debut but played just three minutes.

Is Nike and LeBron James versus Adidas and Anthony Edwards the NBA's next great rivalry?

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) drives against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) during the fourth quarter at Crypto.com Arena.
© Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
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This isn’t the first time Edwards has been the focus of a spat between Nike and Adidas. When Edwards said the NBA player he’d most like to see in his shoe was Kevin Durant, a longtime Nike athlete, Durant replied on Twitter/X that he wouldn’t “put a big toe in them, Mfers.”

In a response that was then deleted, the Adidas Basketball account posted, “u dusty bouta retire soon anyway.” A follow-up tweet saying, “meant to send that from the burner account…” was left published, though, and referenced Durant’s history with alternate social media accounts.

It appears that Adidas is embracing Edwards' role as an NBA badboy. For his runaway hit sneaker, he has taken on the adversarial role from the jump, as an earlier commercial for the AE 1 saw him disparaging other NBA players’ signature models.

So, Edwards putting James in his crosshairs is entirely on brand, especially on opening night. But James and the Lakers got the last laugh on the court. Edwards won't get his chance for revenge until the Timberwolves and Lakers meet again on December 2. Minnesota will try to bounce back on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings.