As studio-lot-high LCD screens parted, rotating out and pushing onlookers back like gigantic alien-living monoliths, and 30 NBA players took the stage featuring the latest in high-tech on-court performance gear, one thing became perfectly clear.
Nike is not here to be subtle.
Friday night in Los Angeles, Nike held what could be described as an apparel unveiling for its new partnership with the NBA, if you want to dabble in excessive understatement. It was the apparel and fashion version of a statement game, to the extreme of the official press release calling the jerseys the "statement edition." The event saw everything from Paul George's first appearance in a Thunder uniform, to hip hop artist Travis Scott taking the stage and imploring a group of mostly media members to bounce, to the sight of 30 players, one representing each team, first taking the stage in the new "Therma Flex Showtime" warm-up hoodies -- something which given the current political atmosphere could well be regarded a statement all its own.
The event was excessive, to the point of ridiculousness, nearing the point of surrealism. The jerseys are the product of advanced technology from the largest athletic apparel company in the world. There's tech integration in every design. The whole thing was held on the same lot where "Wheel of Fortune" is filmed. As one colleague put it, "Nike took it to 'over the top ...' and then decided to go one level above that."
For the past few years, Nike's place in the basketball hierarchy hasn't been questioned, but its future has been. Under Armour's meteoric rise behind Stephen Curry, a flame of relevance in the sport's field that is quickly becoming an ember, was once thought to give them a window to truly challenge Nike in the marketplace. One of the most famous basketball stories of the last few years highlighted Nike's blunder with the Warriors star. Meanwhile, Adidas had held the rights to official NBA merchandise, while adding James Harden as its prolific frontman after failures by Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard to carry the brand.
Nike had still held the market share by exponential values, but there were signs of trouble. Friday night was their attempt to make it clear that not only are they in control of the present, but they own the future as well.
Nike's three biggest signature athletes -- LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant -- were not in attendance at the event Friday. But even their B-team was overwhelming. There was NBA champion and Finals MVP Kevin Durant. There was marquee free-agent-to-be and Thunder star Paul George. There was Clippers star Blake Griffin. And on down the line, from DeMar DeRozan to Giannis Antetokounmpo to Karl-Anthony Towns, the present and future represented.
This is all outside Jordan Brand, a separate Nike entity, which counts Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, and Kawhi Leonard among its ranks.
Nike is now the official partner of the NBA for apparel, and that generated a lot of excitement among the players because of the retailer's reputation and omnipresence. The real takeaways from the event, however, weren't about Nike strutting because it had landed the lucrative patch on the front of the athlete's gear, but about how Nike was looking to push things forward. The key takeaways from the event's emphasis on the future:
Uniform design takes a backseat to reinvention
The most common (and fair) criticism, about the new uniforms that have been revealed is that there was simply too little change. The designs were primarily the same ones that Adidas had used last year. For most of the teams, their entire design is the same, from the logos to the color schemes. This is viewed as a Nike problem, but much of this is because of the recency of the deal, and the complex nature of changes. Logo, color, and design changes have to be negotiated between the team and the league.
Even then, however, the fundamental look of the uniforms featured nothing particularly outlandish (outside of whatever in God's name this Timberwolves jersey is). That was on purpose. Nike vice president of design John Hoke said the goal of the initial design this year was to imbue a sense of reverence for the "history of these legendary franchises."
That may be fine for the initial run. Several league executives have told CBS Sports in recent weeks that they expect more aggressive updates to design for their uniforms next summer. Still, Nike wasn't grabbing headlines with bold new iterations of the uniforms. Instead, Nike focused on taking a big leap forward with the actual performance of the gear itself.
"I almost feel naked"
Those were the words of Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who said the jerseys were so light, it was almost like wearing an undershirt.
"I feel like I need to go put on my jersey now," Conley said.
Nike says that changes to fabric and design structure means a 20-percent reduction in weight from last year's models, making them by far the lightest uniforms the NBA has ever featured. Players have raved about them all summer.
"I think if anything it's going to help us stay focused on the game and not on little distractions," Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap said when asked if the uniforms were so light as to take some level of adjustment.
The most common feedback from players was about the restrictive nature of the shoulders, not just on Adidas' widely-panned sleeved jerseys but overall. Hoke said that very early feedback from players led Nike away from considering sleeved jerseys. LeBron James always had issues with the sleeved uniforms, to the point where the Cavs had a special one made to accommodate his shoulders.
(Notably, the Cavs won their NBA championship in 2016 wearing those same black sleeved jerseys.)
In response, Nike redesigned the shoulder cuts and moved the seam from the top of the jersey to the back to free up movement. So not only is it lighter, but it features more mobility than previous uniforms. Then there are the nodes.
Temperature and breathability is a big deal in the NBA. On top of the ultra-light design, Nike actually designed the interior of the jersey with small nodes that physically lift the jersey off the skin, to create more circulation. On top of that, the nodes themselves have a tiny hole that provides air flow. The whole thing is like wearing a mesh air filter.
Nike says new jerseys are 20% lighter than last year's. They have nodes that literally lift the jersey off the skin to provide circulation pic.twitter.com/ICpT01zQky
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 16, 2017
NBA players next season will have the most rest throughout the season they have ever had thanks to a more balanced schedule. They have the best training and dietary assistance they have ever had. They will have the lightest, most high-performance uniforms they've ever had. Nike is aiming to make a significant leap in performance with the new uniforms, but these are the first try, and they are new. How the players react to them in-game will be interesting to track.
They are also going to sell you stuff
The biggest change outside of performance for Nike in its partnership with the NBA comes in the form of how they are looking to connect fans to more content about their favorite player, and in the process, provide for more opportunities to capitalize off of them.
Every adult jersey (thankfully not available on the kids' versions) that retails for $200 comes with a near-field communication (NFC) chip implanted in the tag. Through Nike's NikeConnect app, fans can tap the tag with their phone, and it opens up a whole array of content. On gamenight, you can tap it and it will pull up GIFs provided by the NBA you can then share on social media, as well as a recap video and stats on the player whose jersey you own.
(One small gripe: the sharing application only allows you to save the image or copy it, not share directly to Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
It's pretty next-level stuff:
Of course ... while you're there ... Nike and the NBA are going to try and sell you stuff.
The app upon connection with the jersey tag also unlocks special offers. Want a chance to snag the newest colorway of the LeBron XV's? How about unlocking a special set of attributes in NBA 2K18? Or tickets to playoff games once your team locks up a spot? Nike's even talking about things like entering to win (or purchase) experiences where you meet your favorite player.
From a commercial standpoint, it's genius. It's an added benefit to the high-priced jersey that unlocks other revenue streams for both Nike and the NBA. It's accessing a highly-active consumer base directly on a personal level, and puts Nike in a whole different sphere as an arbiter of league-related income streams.
From a fan perspective ... it's another way of monetizing in a league so rife with it. League pass, jerseys, shoes, tickets, parking, concessions, and then the new sponsorship jersey patches on top of it. The NBA is a business and business is booming. The app isn't required for anything and does provide some cool non-commercial features, like unlocking a player's Spotify pregame playlist or video interviews with them. If you want to spend money on the NBA, however, Nike is going to enable it in a whole new way.
A natural partnership
Nike is such a big name, not only in sports performance apparel, but specifically in basketball since signing Michael Jordan 30 years ago that the partnership makes the most sense. Many players are signed with Nike, Nike's been at the forefront of the field, it's just a partnership that makes the most sense. (Especially after Nike signed over a billion dollars in the rights deal.) The players seem happy (overall) about the deal and the changes it has brought, Nike designers and executives described it as an honor and a challenge, something to be humbled by given the weight of history it entails.
Fans will be happy the sleeved jerseys are gone.
What was clear from Nike's in-your-face event on Friday for media and partners was how seriously they are taking this moment in re-establishing their dominance, in reconnecting as the most dominant name in professional basketball apparel and fashion. Nike's presentation was as much about being a guide for the game's future as it was about celebrating the present. Yes, there was pomp and circumstance, flash and glitz. Beneath that, though, there are tangible impacts coming in performance and design.
Nike made its statement Friday. Now it's time to see how they follow up their declaration of intent.
