2019 will be the year of basketball sneakers

The world of basketball sneakers in the NBA is a separate ecosystem, lives by its own rules that have nothing to do with the rest. It is a real war that is fought with signatures and signature shoes are the best weapon.
To dominate the "game" there is always the King, LeBron James, in the last three years his are the best selling signature shoes, he chase after his former teammate and trusted squire until the "divorce", Kyrie Irving. The advance of Kyrie is inexorable, according to Forbes last year the basketball sneaker market had a decline of 13.6%, and the native of Melbourne was the only one to see an increase in sales of shoes that carry the his name, this is because Nike has strengthened the marketing strategies around Irving that has gone very strong both in the field, many NBA players wear "his" models, on social networks and, not to be underestimated, is the best-selling shoe among children, leaving Cleveland was a good choice even from this point of view.
LeBron, Steph Curry, KD, and Jordan have seen a significant decline on the market but in this 2019 things will be different.

2018 was an incredible year for sneakers: for the first time, Nike's monopoly in the NBA is clearly wavering, given the entry that is anything but "silent" by other brands that aim to destroy the hegemony that the Portland brand has been for several years now; the return of PUMA and New Balance in the way of basketball; stars such as Joel Embiid and Kawhi Leonard have signed new contracts with Under Armor and New Balance; adidas has unveiled a new shoelace-free play shoe, the N3XT L3V3L and has signed one of the most forward-looking rookies, both on and off the pitch, in the 2018 draft, Atlanta Hawks Trae Young's playmaker. Jordan Brand continued to succeed with its retro program with the release of two of its most iconic sneakers, the Air Jordan "Black Cement" and Air Jordan 11 "Concord". This year Jordan Brand will also celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Jordan IV, the release of the "Bred" is expected that Michael wore when he put the famous "The Shot" with which he eliminated Cleveland in the first round of the 1989 playoffs.

We have also seen a lot of collaborations in the field as the NBA has "softened" the rules of colorway to wear. The Nike project "The Ten" by Virgil Abloh was one of the most popular trends last season with the OFF-WHITE X Air Jordan 1 and the Nike React Hyperdunk 2017, plus it also unveiled its collaboration with Fear of God and Jerry Lorenzo with Nike Air Fear of God 1.

Nobody could expect PUMA to return to the world of basketball sneakers with this strength. The brand was already doing very well under the contract of celebrities such as Rihanna, Kylie Jenner, The Weekend, Selena Gomez etc. With Jay-Z's announcement as creative director the turning point was clear, the German brand decided to sign a lot of prospects for the 2018 draft, such as the number 1 Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Kevin Knox and Michael Porter Jr , they also signed DeMarcus Cousins ​​and Terry Rozer. The Clyde Court "Disrupt" has made with very conspicuous colorway in the OG version I think it is a shoe to watch and the progress of PUMA in the world of basketball is only at the beginning despite the chosen players are not necessarily those that fans watch to see which sneakers wear, but then again, we are at the beginning. Moreover, PUMA's choice not to realize signature shoe is emblematic, this decision could reward the German company managing to make the "Disrupt" the jump from the field to the road as, apart from Jordan Brand, no signature is ransom in this intent.

The entry of New Balance instead happened suddenly, putting under contract the prospect Darius Bazley for an internship with a guaranteed value of 1 million dollars. They also scored a huge hit by signing Kawhi Leonard to make him the face of the brand, but the Toronto Raptors player continues to wear Jordan for now as New Balance has not released a basketball model yet.

Another brand to watch is the most iconic of all, Converse. Owned by Nike but lives on its own, it is plausible that in 2019 it could present a shoe inspired by the "Weapon" of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird with Nike technology, or one inspired by Chuck Taylor.

But who will break out a real thermonuclear war, will be the 18-year-old rookie of Duke, Zion Williamson.
All brands currently engaged in the "game" will want to sign it once landed on the NBA and only those who can make the best proposal if they take it home. The physical qualities of the boy are impressive, the technical ones will most likely improve with time but for his indecent explosiveness could become an unprecedented marketing machine.

NIKE: The most obvious choice maybe. It would join the gang that already sees LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Giannis Antetokounmpo. I do not even want to think about what Nike advertisers could have invented by having this gold mine in their hands.

ADIDAS: Right now the top athlete of the German brand is the current MVP James Harden who is playing an unreal basketball, then there is also Damian Lillard. It could be a "raise" in poker style, a sort of all-in to dethrone Nike from his hegemony position in the NBA and take his place.

PUMA: If PUMA will continue with the policy of signing athletes in the first year, they will try in every way to grab Zion's talents and I do not think they have budget problems.

UNDER ARMOUR: If you have Stephen Curry among your athletes, you can do it all.