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Adidas & LeBron James Agree on Nike NBA Christmas Day Uniforms

LeBron James and adidas both pined for Christmas Day uniforms in the NBA.

Pat Benson

December 25, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second quarter in a NBA basketball game on Christmas against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 89-83.
December 25, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second quarter in a NBA basketball game on Christmas against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 89-83. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Nike is the undisputed king of sports apparel and footwear in the United States. Unfortunately, sitting atop the throne of the sportswear industry in the current environment makes brands a target on social media.

Nike has the exclusive uniform rights for all three of the major sports in the United States (MLB, NBA, and NFL). However, that was not always the case. Adidas supplied the NBA with uniforms through the 2016-17 season.

During its partnership with the NBA, adidas regularly produced holiday-themed uniforms - especially for the Christmas Day games. Each year, fans were treated to tasteful alternate threads with a holiday twist.

Nike has made several unpopular changes to NBA uniforms over the past seven years, including the discarding of special Christmas Day uniforms. It became a popular topic of conversation among NBA players and fans on social media yesterday, with adidas capitalizing on the moment with an X (formerly Twitter) post.

Adidas quoted its original post from 2015, in which it unveiled its NBA Christmas Day jerseys months in advance. The original post said, "Season's greetings. Introducing the 2015 @NBA Christmas Day uniforms."

The old image showed the jerseys for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, and Cleveland Cavaliers. The 2015 jerseys featured team colors, cursive script, and off-white accents.

Adidas wrote in the new post, "The day was great but better when we had these." The iconic brand is not wrong. It was an unsubtle dig at Nike for its widely-panned creative direction of NBA uniforms, especially its annual City Edition alternate uniforms.

Fans are not alone in missing the Christmas Day uniforms. Los Angeles Lakers forward and signature Nike athlete LeBron James chimed in on the conversation before taking on the Golden State Warriors yesterday.

James wrote, "Not having Xmas day unis anymore really sucks! That was a great feeling walking into the locker room and seeing those. It was literally like receiving a (gift emoji)! Whomp whomp!" That is tough criticism coming from the face of Nike Basketball.

While many fans still debated the infamous adidas sleeved-jerseys, no one can deny the popularity of the brand's Christmas jerseys. Hopefully, the special uniforms make a comeback. There is just little faith among the basketball fans that Nike would go a good job with the concept.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Kicks On Sports Illustrated. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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