Image via Complex Original
The easiest way for a sneaker brand to get people to dig their kicks—besides just design awesome kicks—is to pay someone famous to endorse their product. Usually this means that an athlete or rapper is going to be in ads, commercials, or wearing the product on court and getting their own signature sneaker. Most of the time, fans latch onto who's endorsing the sneakers (they're the face of the brand, after all). But sometimes the people chosen to slang a certain brand makes everyone say "What the fuck were they thinking?"
There are many reasons a sneaker endorsement is awkward. It could be that the person endorsing the brand is down with another company, or the athlete has a higher-perceived quality than the brand they are wearing. Either way, it just seems weird and we can't believe that some of the endorsements ever happened. Here are The 15 Most Unbelievable Sneaker Endorsements of All Time.
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Andre Agassi and adidas
Year: 2005
We all know Andre Agassi as the tennis rebel who wore the loudest Nike sneakers on the court. His move to adidas proved to be a boring venture for Agassi, who had since cut off his flowing locks and ditched the pink and neon kits. The sneakers were plain, and although hey featured Climacool technology, were not as rad as the previous signature sneakers he had from Nike.
Mickael Pietrus and Jordan Brand
Year: 2003
You can expect decent defense and a three-point shot from Mickael Pietrus, but that doesn't qualify him to endorse Jordan Brand. You think of Michael Jordan, and then you think of Pietrus--and then the two just don't add up. Pietrus has only averaged over 10 points once his career, in the 2006-2007 season with the Golden State Warriors. Other than that, it's been single digit points and the dopest exclusive sneakers for Pietrus every season.
Eric Koston and Nike
Year: 2009
When it comes to skate shoes, Eric Koston is the don. His sneakers with eS are all classic, and then he made a move to Lakai to skate with his Girl teammates and friends, Mike Carroll and Rick Howard. The biggest move, however, that Koston made was going to NIke. In 2009 Nike SB was nothing new, but Koston going to the brand shocked skaters all around. Some people were excited. Some were frustrated. But Koston's first signature sneaker with Nike--along with his "Thai Temple" Nike SB Dunks--were proven to be skate-friendly.
James Worthy and New Balance
Year: 1989
New Balance lived by a creed, "Endorsed by no one," but it broke these rules to give James Worthy sneakers when the Los Angeles Lakers were winning championships in the late-'80s. Worthy and his hard play were a big hit, but a year later, he was busted with prostitutes and forced New Balance to drop him from his deal. The kicker of the whole affair is that the slogan used by New Balance for Worthy's endorsement was "Trust Worthy."
Daddy Yankee and Reebok
Year: 2005
There's Jay Z and 50 Cent, and then there's Daddy Yankee. He helped bring reggaeton to America, but his star never really lasted. Either did his Reebok sneakers. They were too similar to everything else on the market, and Daddy Yankee's star wasn't big enough to help push his product to the masses.
Dwyane Wade and Li-Ning
Year: 2012
Being on Jordan Brand is a dream come true for most basketball players, but Dwyane Wade decided to flip the script and ditch the Jumpman for Li-Ning. The Miami Heat guard's Way of Wade sneakers proved that a top-tier NBA star could sign an overseas sneaker deal in his prime and not be viewed as corny or playing in inferior sneakers.
Lupe Fiasco and Reebok
Year: 2006
There was a time when Lupe Fiasco was the coolest dude in streetwear. His debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, was a new ray of lyrical excellence and he had a blog on Hypebeast. He also had an impressive collection of Nike sneakers, which he gave away and signed a deal with Reebok. The result was a pair of plain, grey and white sneakers that you could probably skate in, but no one did. Since then, Lupe really hasn't been seen as a sneakerhead and he no longer runs streetwear.
Karl Malone and LA Gear
Year: 1991
Light-up soles are what people remember about L.A. Gear, but Karl Malone actually wore the brand in the NBA as he was getting dished passes from John Stockton. Malone's sneakers didn't light-up because the technology was banned on-court, but it's surprising that such a solid player would endorse such a gimmicky brand.
Latrell Sprewell and Dada
Year: 2004
Spinners were a definitive trend of 2000s hip-hop, and they even found their way onto sneakers thanks to Latrell Sprewell and Dada. Sprewell started a brand that made spinning rims for cars and his sneakers sported the same rotating car part. What's even crazier is that Dada was willing to invest in Sprewell and make him the face of their brand even after he had choked out his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, in 1997.
Lil Wayne and Supra
Year: 2013
To be fair, Lil Wayne has gotten better at skateboarding, but he's eons away from establishing himself as a pro skater. Still, Supra gave him his own sneaker line, Spectre, and let him have his own Skytop IIIs. There are plenty of pro and amateur skaters who have never received their own sneaker deal. But Weezy has and it makes us all scratch our heads.
Meb Keflezighi and Skechers
Year: 2011
Serious runners don't head to Skechers when they need a pair of sneakers, but marathon runner Meb Keflezighi signed a deal with the brand that's famous for bringing you Shape-Ups. He's the winner of the 2009 New York City Marathon, finished fourth in the 2012 Summer Olympics marathon event, and proved that runners don't have to go to one of the big brands to have success. It is, however, still leaving us befuddled.
Jason Kidd and Peak
Year: 2008
It's hard to divorce Jason Kidd from the Nike Zoom Flight 5. It was Kidd's signature sneaker that he had worn for a large portion of his career. But he made a surprise move in 2008 and signed with Chinese footwear brand Peak, and ended up winning a championship with the brand on his feet. Everything ended well, though, as Kidd signed back with Nike and wore the brand in his final year, 2012, in the NBA.
Master P and Converse
Year: 1999
Master P was making us all say, "Ughhh," in the late-'90s, and it gave him a second chance at chasing the basketball dream he never got to actualize. P had played at the University of Houston before hurting his knee, but was given a second chance when his rap career took off. This prompted Converse to actually make legitimate basketball sneakers for the "Colonel of the Tank." We don't know what's more absurd, the fact that he actually got a chance to try out for the NBA, or that Converse used P as a selling point for people who wanted to hoop it up.
Glen Rice and Nautica and Warner Bros.
Year: 1997
The weirdest signature sneakers belong to Glen Rice. Most people don't know that Nautica and Warner Bros. (yes, that Warner Bros.) ever made sneakers. But Rice had signature kicks with both brands. These deals occurred when Rice played for the Charlotte Hornets, and he broke out the Warner Bros. kicks during the 1997 All-Star game. They must have been good luck, Rice scored 26 points in just 25 minutes of action and lead the East to a 132-120 victory.
Nelly and Reebok
Year: 2005
Nelly had everyone stomping in their Air Force 1s in 2002, and buying two pairs at a time. The St. Louis rapper, however, didn't get a custom pair of AF1s, but three years later he inked a deal with Reebok. The result was a sneaker titled the "Derrty One," and was an obvious play on Nelly's need to rock Forces. But the kicks weren't hot in the sneaker stores. They were something that sat on shelves and hit twenty-dollar prices on clearance racks.