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The good news just kept raining for the Milwaukee Bucks family, as Giannis Antetokounmpo finally secured a sneaker deal — choosing to go back to Nike only hours after his team secured a trade with the Phoenix Suns for Eric Bledsoe.
Antetokounmpo was courted by brands like Adidas and Chinese brand Li-Ning throughout his offseason sneaker free agency, both if which offered the lanky forward his own signature shoe for the near future.
He's bound to get the same exact treatment from Nike, though the release of his “Giannis 1” sneaker could take from 14-to-18 months from pencil sketch to fruition, according to ESPN's Nick DePaula and Darren Rovell.
This would put the release window for the much-anticipated signature line between fall to the holiday season of 2019.
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“I've always said that I think he's one of those guys that has the potential to transcend his market,” Antetokounmpo's agent, Alex Saratsis, said at the start of this process. “I think he's showing that he can do that. I think he's one of the few players that could have a truly global appeal.”
Antetokounmpo, like his European brethren Kristaps Porzingis, are both bound to net their own signature sneaker lines, which are expected to have an immediate impact at the international market — a provision which sneaker and athletic clothing brands have attacked aggressively in the past season.
The Greek Freak has been an avid fan of Kobe Bryant's signature line, seen wearing the Kobe Xs and the Kobe A.D.s religiously during games for the past few seasons in the league.
