The NBA has officially announced Nike will be the official on-court uniform and apparel provider for the Association. The partnership will run for eight years starting in the 2017-2018 season. The NBA’s current contract with adidas will end after the 2016-2017 season.
In the press release, Commissioner Adam Silver expressed the NBA’s global interests with this merchandising partnership:
“This partnership with NIKE represents a new paradigm in the structure of our global merchandising business. As our exclusive oncourt apparel provider, NIKE will be instrumental in our collective efforts to grow the game globally while applying the latest in technology to the design of our uniforms and oncourt products.”
In Silver’s short tenure as commissioner, he’s talked expansively about reaching new global marketplaces with the NBA product. Joining the NBA in merchandising partner will be both the WNBA and the NBA Developmental League. A continued unified aesthetic will help the NBA push their brand even further across the globe.
For the first time in league history, an apparel company will have their brand logo on all on-court apparel. The famous Nike swoosh will be visible on every warmup and shooting shirt, but hopefully those are the only sleeves that will be seen on the court.
Nike created these amazing jerseys for Team USA last summer. Hopefully there is more of this to come as the NBA advances into a new uniform era.