There is no better status symbol in basketball than a brand giving you a signature sneaker. Whether it’s the NBA or WNBA, apparel companies have to make some pretty big decisions by identifying the best athletes on their respective rosters to represent them. There are a number of ways this happens, but the most sacred of them all is a signature sneaker.
Of course, while brands like Nike and adidas have cornered the market on many of the biggest names in the game, plenty of other brands in the U.S. and abroad have placed big bets on NBA and WNBA players. Today, we wanted to look through all the brands that have given out signature sneakers, or have something in the works for players this season.
Nike
Devin Booker
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Ja Morant
Kevin Durant
LeBron James
Sabrina Ionescu
A’ja Wilson (Coming 2025)
Caitlin Clark (Coming 2025)
Nike boasts the biggest roster of players with a signature sneaker, with five NBA stars and soon-to-be three WNBA stars with their own shoe. A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark will be the newest additions to the Nike sneaker lineup in 2025, while LeBron James is set to put out a staggering 22nd edition of his signature line. We can also expect a sixth NBA shoe from Nike on the horizon, as Victor Wembanyama is on the roster, and you can probably bet that he will get his own sneaker sooner than later as he continues to ascend to superstardom.
adidas
Anthony Edwards
Damian Lillard
Donovan Mitchell
James Harden
Trae Young
Like Nike, adidas has five NBA stars with their own signature shoe, with veterans like James Harden and Damian Lillard having places on the three stripes roster for a decade. However, the standout of the adidas lineup last year was the debut of the AE1, which was arguably the best hoops shoe period and certainly one of the best debut sneakers we’ve seen in a long time. The challenge for adidas will be following that up, and we also will wait to see when they get back into the WNBA signature game now that Candace Parker is heading up their women’s hoops division.
Jordan
Jayson Tatum
Luka Doncic
Zion Williamson
Jordan Brand has a trio of young NBA stars, as they’ve refreshed their lineup recently after years with the likes of Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony as the active faces of the brand. Zion and Luka are launching the fourth shoes in their lines, while Tatum is getting his third this season.
Puma
LaMelo Ball
Scoot Henderson
Breanna Stewart
Puma’s lineup features a pair of young NBA point guards and one of the most accomplished WNBA stars of all time. The Stewie line has been a hit since it dropped, and the LaMelo line came out of the gate hot before cooling off a touch, largely due to Ball being in and out of the lineup the last two years. Puma will hope that LaMelo can recapture his place alongside the top young guards in the NBA with a healthy year, and that Henderson takes a leap on the court to garner some buzz in his second season.
Under Armour/Curry Brand
Stephen Curry
De’Aaron Fox (Coming 2024)
It’s hard to overstate how important Steph Curry has been to Under Armour, but giving him his own brand while still being an active player is a pretty good indicator of what they think of him. In the not-too-distant future, Curry Brand will launch its first signature shoe for someone other than Steph, as Kings guard De’Aaron Fox will debut his new shoe at the start of this season.
New Balance
Kawhi Leonard
New Balance has been steadily building a deep roster across a number of sports, but they’ve also been deliberate about signature shoes with their basketball players. Only Kawhi Leonard has his own sneaker with the brand as they’ve exploded back on the scene in the hoops space, but it’s easy to see how that can change. Tyrese Maxey continues to emerge as a star in Philly, and they just signed the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 Draft, Cooper Flagg, to a deal before he plays a year at Duke.
ANTA
Klay Thompson
Kyrie Irving
Of the overseas brands, no one has bigger stars than ANTA, which boasts Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving on its roster. Thompson has been with ANTA for years, while Irving joined the brand after he was dropped by Nike. Now, those two are teammates in Dallas, giving ANTA a unique foothold in the metroplex.
Li-Ning
CJ McCollum
Jimmy Butler
Chinese brand Li-Ning is best known for Dwyane Wade’s Way of Wade brand, but they also have a pair of current stars signed to signature deals, with Jimmy Butler and CJ McCollum each having their own shoe.
361 Degrees
Aaron Gordon
Spencer Dinwiddie
Aaron Gordon has been with 361 Degrees for years. Dinwiddie has been with the brand for the past two years after leaving the K8IROS brand he created. They’re not the first players to get a signature sneaker from the brand, though, as it is best known to most NBA fans for previously making a Kevin Love sneaker.
Peak
Andrew Wiggins
Peak has had some big names in the past — and still makes shoes under Tony Parker and Lou Williams’ names — but their lone current signature sneaker belongs to Andrew Wiggins.
Rigorer
Austin Reaves
Austin Reaves capitalized on his rise to fame in L.A. with a signature sneaker deal with Chinese brand Rigorer last season.
