Which USA Basketball players are sponsored by Nike? Who is sponsored by other brands?

USA Basketball is in the midst of their pre-Olympic Showcase, currently in Abu Dhabi, but much of the focus in the lead up to the Paris Games has been off the court. Speculation is growing about the make up of the team and how much pull Team USA’s sponsor Nike has in building the roster.

Brown and Kyrie left out

Jaylen Brown has put Nike and USA Basketball under the spotlight over the last few weeks after claiming that he was left off the team because he is not a Nike athlete. He was not named on the team’s original roster, and then Derrick White, a Nike athlete, was chosen over him once Kawhi Leonard was dropped from the team before the USA Basketball Showcase began last week.

The Boston Celtic and newly crowned champion went to social media to vent about his frustration and speculated that Nike may have had something to do with his exclusion from the team. Brown isn’t the only one who might feel slighted by not being named to the team. Kyrie Irving was also left off the roster despite being one of the top point guards in the game.

The Finals MVP was a Nike athlete but ended his deal with them three years ago. While Brown was wearing Nikes during the NBA Finals he has no deal that ties him to the brand. Irving is also an NBA Champion and eight time All-Star, and used to be a Nike athlete up until 2022, but now he is sponsored by Chinese brand ANTA.

How many USA Basketball players are sponsored by Nike?

While Nike is the primary sponsor for players on the roster, they are not the exclusive shoe provider for everyone on the team. There are five different brands that sponsor the 12 players on the roster, but no brand is more prevalent than Nike with six players on USA’s 5x5 Men’s Basketball Team. LeBron James is the face Nike basketball, and has been for decades, but Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton and Derrick White are all Nike athletes.

Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo are considered Nike athletes as well, although their official sponsor is Air Jordan which is a product of Nike Inc. There are only three players who have no affiliation with Nike basketball, and those are Anthony Edwards is the only player signed with Adidas. Stephen Curry has his own line of sneakers with Under Armour and so did Joel Embiid until he signed with Skechers in April of this year.

While each player will wear their own shoe, the jerseys, warm ups and other off court apparel will be provided by Nike throughout the USA Basketball Showcase and the Olympics. Team USA has three more exhibition games before kicking off their Olympic campaign on July 28th against Serbia.