LeBron James shouts out Kevin Durant & fellow Nike athletes after Adidas & Slim Reaper's Twitter spat
An official Adidas Twitter/X account ripped Kevin Durant after the former NBA MVP’s comments about Anthony Edwards’ new shoes. The brand just released AE 1 on Friday, when the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was asked who he would like to see wear his shoes. “Ant-Man” responded that he’d like to see "KD" wear it in one of his games. Durant’s not-so-subtle rejection of the idea seemingly did not go down well with Adidas.
In a since-deleted tweet, the Three-Stripes account lambasted Durant, calling him “dusty” and telling him he’s about to retire soon. The skirmish on social media is somewhat hilarious but puts the battle between Nike and Adidas in a nutshell. While most NBA players wear shoes coming from the former, some prefer the latter.
LeBron James, arguably Nike’s most popular and recognizable athlete, went on Instagram to show his support to his colleagues at “The Swoosh”:
“SIG STATUS!! Salute Y’all G’s!! #SwooshGang. KEEP GOING UP”
The four-time MVP’s post had photos of several of the best-selling Nike basketball shoes that included his and those of Kevin Durant. James’ IG post was greeted with a heartwarming response from several players, with Durant’s salute just under his message.
Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant are three of the brand’s endorsers as well. Devin Booker has recently been added to the roster. Nike will release Book 1 in the spring of 2024.
Kevin Durant’s Twitter foe also has a stable of superstars. Besides Anthony Edwards, the brand has Damian Lillard, James Harden, Trae Young and Derrick Rose.
Adidas wasn’t done with Kevin Durant after deleting its original tweet
Long after “dusty” was removed, Adidas came up with something else to troll the former Golden State Warriors superstar. Kevin Durant allegedly owns several burner accounts on Twitter to interact with or even get back at critics. He has been targeted by fans for this. The brand just joined the bandwagon.
The administrator/s of the account dug in and posted this:
“Meant to send that from the burner account…
Adidas isn’t likely deleting it anytime soon since it’s been on X for several hours now. The tweet already has 2.8 million views and is still growing.
Kevin Durant, though, is no stranger to social media feuds. He has been involved in such spats with casual fans and former NBA players. "KD" even had some serious back-and-forth with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith during his time with the Brooklyn Nets.
Based on reactions, Adidas’ shot at Durant was on point. It remains to be seen if the Nike model will push back.