Anthony Edwards (5) of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacted after missing a shot in the final seconds of the game on March 19 at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Last week, Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards produced one of the most viral sports moments of the year, a one-handed slam dunk over Utah forward John Collins that was instantly titled the best dunk of the season.
Edwards himself called the dunk — which has since been viewed tens of millions of times online — the best of his career.
Clearly visible in videos and images of the high-flying moment are the coral-colored Adidas sneakers Edwards is wearing, his first signature shoe called AE 1, which became available in stores a few months ago.
For Adidas, “It would be hard for a room full of creatives to come up with a better idea for a poster than what that dunk was,” said Pat Benson, who covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation. “That was just a dream come true for Adidas.”
The AE 1 shoe, manufactured in assorted colors in addition to coral, is priced at $120. It’s one of the most popular athletic sneakers on the market and is a top seller on Footlocker.com and StockX, a popular online marketplace for sneakers.
“The shoe itself is futuristic and different, which is a breath of fresh air in the sneaker community,” Benson said.
When it comes to basketball footwear, Germany-based Adidas has spent decades in the shadow of Nike, Benson said. Paired with Edwards’ soaring popularity, however, Adidas is gaining ground.
In a financial report released earlier this month, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden called Edwards’ shoe “a successful launch” and in November he said the basketball star’s signature shoe line “gives us a more optimistic outlook for our basketball business.”
Edwards’ potential impact on Adidas is already being compared to the boost Michael Jordan gave to Nike, which until then, had not been associated with basketball.
“I don’t think we’ve seen a better rollout of a signature sneaker perhaps since Michael Jordan took flight with Nike back in the 1980s,” Benson said.
For the past decade, Adidas’ basketball roster has included NBA stars James Harden and Damian Lillard, both of whom have signed significant deals with the company — for $200 million and $100 million, respectively. But neither possess the acrobatic abilities of Edwards, who some say has the potential to become the most recognizable player in the NBA.
In 2023, the Timberwolves signed Edwards to a five-year contract extension worth up to $260 million.
