NBA World Reacts to Joel Embiid Reportedly Signing With Skechers

The reigning MVP appears set to headline the company's inaugural basketball class.
NBA World Reacts to Joel Embiid Reportedly Signing With Skechers
NBA World Reacts to Joel Embiid Reportedly Signing With Skechers /
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When the American public thinks of basketball shoes, Skechers is hardly the first brand that comes to mind.

Just take a look at Wikipedia's list of athletes with whom the company has been associated over the years: Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Hall of Fame boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, former quarterback Tony Romo and 2022 U.S. Open champion golfer Matt Fitzpatrick—a lot of big names, but none on the hardwood.

On Wednesday, the company reportedly took steps to change that. Per Shams Charania and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic76ers center Joel Embiid—along with Knicks forward Julius Randle and Clippers guard Terance Mann—is expected to endorse Skechers’s new basketball division.

Reactions to the 2023 MVP's apparent new direction were decidedly mixed.

Many referenced the company's unfashionable reputation as compared to rivals like Nike and Adidas.

Fans and observers wondered just how lucrative Embiid's purported deal really was.

Some (in tongue-and-cheek fashion) gave up on Embiid altogether.

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Regardless of the hypothetical check size, a few anti-Skechers firebrands pronounced themselves unable to be persuaded like Embiid reportedly was.

Skechers’s mettle will be put to the test on Oct. 26, when Philadelphia opens its season against the Bucks.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .