From shell toe to Harden and Ant, adidas keeps turning on‑court heat into what you wear out the door.
Hands up at the Garden
The beat drops, the arena lights blaze, and thousands of pairs of sneakers shoot into the air. July 19, 1986, Madison Square Garden. Run‑DMC yells “My Adidas,” and the crowd answers by holding theirs high. In one night, a performance sneaker becomes a culture signal.
That moment led to a landmark deal, widely recognized as the first non‑sporting sneaker endorsement. It proved something simple and loud: basketball shoes weren’t just for games, they were for identity. We dug into that night in When the Crowd Held Up Their Adidas: The Night Hip-Hop Became a Sneaker Department.
But the fuse was lit long before the chorus. Back in 1970, adidas dropped the Superstar, a low‑top leather hoop shoe with a rubber shell toe, soon to leap from NBA floors to street style because it looked tough and clean, and it photographed like a star.
The committee and the crowd
Before the signature era really took over, adidas played the team game. In 1979 the Top Ten arrived, marketed with a roster of elite players, built for the hardwood but styled for the sidewalk. It set up the boom of the 1980s, where a hoop shoe could pass from practice to parties without changing laces.
Pop culture kept pouring gas on it. On February 8, 1997, an 18‑year‑old Kobe Bryant won the NBA Dunk Contest in Cleveland. One airborne show and every kid suddenly cared what their favourites wore, from midsole shape to sock height. You could feel the shift, the tunnel would soon be a runway.
By April 2006, adidas was stitched into the fabric of the game itself, announced as the official on‑court uniform and apparel provider across the NBA, WNBA and the D‑League. Performance moved hand in hand with presence. The brand wasn’t just around basketball, it was inside it.
Tunnel fits, timelines, real time
What happens on court now shows up on timelines minutes later. Players walk in, cameras roll, and the tunnel becomes the starting point for what gets worn next week at school. adidas leaned into that loop with shoes that read strong in photos and still do work between the lines.
That feedback cycle is the whole play. The brand builds product, athletes wear it where the world watches, fans style it their way, then adidas reflects that energy right back with colour stories and city‑ready editions. It’s not nostalgia for its own sake, it’s retro stitched to new heat.
Harden writes a new playbook
In 2015, adidas announced a long‑term partnership with James Harden, widely reported at 13 years and big money. A year later, the Harden Vol. 1 launched, built around his game and his off‑court eye. Since then, the line has become a running conversation between performance and fashion.
The latest chapter keeps that pace. The Harden Vol. 8 “Luxury Red” landed in 2024 with a bold, dressed‑up story that photographs loud and moves smooth in the tunnel. The Adidas Men's/Women's Adidas James Harden Vol. 8 "Luxury Red" is available now at The Closet Inc.
If signature shoes are your thing, we wrote about how the whole scene became a billboard in The Signature Shoe Arms Race: How Basketball Turned Feet Into Billboards.
Ant is the moment
In September 2023, adidas announced Anthony Edwards as a signature athlete and unveiled the AE 1. The shoe debuted late that year, then spread into new colours and cuts as his rise picked up speed. By May 2024, after Minnesota erased a 20‑point hole to win in Denver, Ant felt like the face of young hoops energy.
adidas kept feeding that momentum with experiences that mixed court and culture. All‑Star Weekend in Los Angeles this year featured fan‑first setups, including “AntLAnd,” blurring basketball, music and fashion in one place. The same approach showed up at the EuroLeague Final Four in Athens, with drops and moments built for players and the street.
The AE 1 look even jumped sports. The Adidas Men's Adidas Anthony Edwards 1 Low American Football Cleat "Semi Solar Green" carries the same design language to the gridiron, proof that a strong hoops identity can export style anywhere.
From a shell toe built for paint battles, to Top Ten committee heat, to Harden’s tailored statement and Ant’s all‑gas era, adidas keeps turning the game into a wardrobe. That’s the empire, performance that lives everywhere you do.
A closer look
Shop related products
These products are available now at The Closet Inc., alongside more sneakers and streetwear in our collection.
Men's/Women's Adidas James Harden Vol. 8 "Luxury Red"
Men's Adidas Anthony Edwards 1 Low American Football Cleat "Semi Solar Green"