The NBA playoffs are in full swing but missing some of its biggest names, such as Kevin Durant, Luka Dončić and Joel Embiid. Fans have expressed disappointment with load management and the unavailability of big-time players for big-time games.
More bad news came for the NBA this week when an X post from @TheNBABase reported that Nike is reportedly struggling to sell basketball shoes because NBA players “aren’t as popular as they used to be,” per @WindhorstE
“Financial experts claim the lack of player popularity is now directly hitting Nike’s revenue and stock price (Via@hoopstonite )”
While Nike is still at the top of the food chain, the company has seen a decline as they have released a proliferation of signature shoes for WNBA and NBA players in recent years.
In 2025, Nike, Jordan, Adidas, New Balance, and Asics maintained their top-selling sneaker brands status, with Nike leading the market with 18 percent market share. Despite a recent sales decline, Nike’s legacy and innovation continue to drive its dominance.
Fans Say Nike Should Promote Caitlin Clark Better
Fans shared various opinions about why this decline is happening and whether or not it correlates with the quality of product the NBA produces these days. The long-awaited Caitlin Clark line should also have been released already, fans felt.
“Nike has had (arguably) the most popular basketball player on the planet without a signature shoe for what will be about 3 years,” one Clark supporter said.
“Meanwhile, they have totally and completely f-cked up the way they have handled Caitlin Clark. They have a f-cking unicorn on their hands, and they can’t be bothered to really promote or push her. Crazy malpractice,” added another player.
Clark got a $28M deal from Nike out of college and her Kobe collab reportedly sold out in minutes.
Fans Say Nike Designs Are Outdated
“You gotta be marketable to the youth, fair prices and you can’t just make shoes for hoopers. They gotta get back to their roots, stop tryna make everyone’s shoes look like Kobe’s,” one user said.
“Make some shoes that are cool….tap in with the culture on the ground….Pharrell Jellyfish are selling out because he made a cool comfortable shoe…make something that we think looks cool,” added another.
“maybe if they innovated like they did when kobe, bron, and kd were all they had for their lines …. stale now,” one netizen quipped.
“GT Cut 4’s, Futures, Zions, even Book 2’s are just terrible basketball shoes. I see ton of Ja 3 but even those are bad for wide footers. Meanwhile, Way of Wade, Anta Kai’s and Li-Ning just keep making amazing shoes. Nike isn’t struggling because of players, they make bad shoes,” one sneaker lover commented.
“They’re f-ckin whack and played out. Everyone is tired of Jordan’s and Kobe’s… These kids didn’t give a fck about them,” a fan said.
“No one is collecting, BOTS f-cked that up and the older sneakers are made of better materials (leather) and more supportive,” reasoned another.
“They don’t know the market,” blurted one user.
“The only signature shoe design worth wearing as fashionable wear is Ja Morant , but to be honest his play and off the court sh-t stopped his star power , Nike gotta design more shoes that look good in clothes like the 90’s, be more creative and of course Make em affordable,” another X user stated.
The people have spoken and the numbers are shouting, but is the NBA looking?
