Isiah still has some of his old sneakers in his house. He hasn’t worn the sneakers for what seems like forever. They remind him of his best days and the bold opportunity he took to work with a brand that aims to be a leader in puma basketball shoes footwear.
The brand continues to strive for basketball relevance, thirty years later. Puma is back in basketball for the second time in almost two decades with the ongoing NBA season. Jay-Z has been appointed creative director of the rejuvenated division.
There are more Pumas than ever before in NBA history. They have joined the puma basketball shoes team, which has a richer and more Hottest Hockey Players intriguing history than most people would think. From the 1970s through the 2000s, Converse, Nike and Adidas dominated the court. Puma products were placed at the feet of Hall of Famer and world champions. They even persuaded a scoring titleholder once to join the team. The hardwood has been graced by Pumas at high school showcases and college games, as well as the NBA Slam Dunk Contests. The company wanted to change the NBA’s puma basketball shoes destiny and made deals with everyone involved, from the NBA’s tallest player to the University of North Carolina’s phenom.
Vince Carter stated in 1998 that “the Puma name has been well-recognized for being a leader of sports” and “I’m looking forward making that name more well-known on court.”
It all began in 1973 when Frazier was not only Puma’s first signature athlete, but also the first basketball player to own his own sneaker. Frazier was a champion ring holder at the time and was a sought-after player with a record 7.9 rebounds per game as the All-Star point guard of the New York Knicks.
Puma basketball shoes Clyde’s were the predecessor to Air Jordans. Frazier wanted a shoe with enough padding inside that was light, wide and lightweight. The brand followed Frazier’s vision like a blueprint, and produced a product that included an unimaginable element: Frazier’s nickname “Clyde”, which was inscribed in cursive underneath the logo of the brand on each shoe – hence the name “signature sneaker.”
Frazier retired in 1980. After earning All-Star MVP and a 1981 NBA title with the Boston Celtics, Nate “Tiny” Archibald was Puma’s next major endorsee. Archibald, like Jones, lasted just one season with Puma. Spoiler alert: Puma would continue to be plagued by short deals with players throughout its decades-long journey through puma basketball shoes. However, this trend was briefly reversed in the mid-1980s when Puma began to court star players like Nuggets small forward Alex English.