The NBA League MVP Award carries the greatest amount of clout within the realm of regular season hardware. Winners read as a ‘who’s who’ of NBA legends. While researching past MVPs I found it interesting how 20 of the last 38 modern winners (since 1980) wore either Nike or Jordan. Since we’re on the topic: seven winners wore Converse, six wore obscure brands (And1, Reebok, LA Gear, Spalding, Shaq), and two wore Under Armour (guess who). One would have assumed that Adidas would have more league MVPs than Converse but The Brand With Three Stripes holds a grand total of five award recipients. Lets take a look back at Adidas’s winners since James Harden won his first MVP earlier this weekend. Note: we’re not covering Kareem’s 1980 MVP.
Tim Duncan
Leading the charge is back-to-back MVP, Mr. Fundamental, Tim Duncan. The 2003 season was arguably Timmy’s best with a laundry list of individual and team achievements. For starters, the All-star lead the Spurs in Finals MVP fashion to their 2nd NBA Championship. During the regular season Duncan won: League MVP, All-NBA 1st Team and All-NBA 1st Team Defense. Adidas made a good call signing Tim because all of this happened during his first contact year. In the Finals Tim served as the poster child for the Adidas A-3 Superstar.
Derrick Rose
Dynamic doesn’t do Derrick justice. When the Chicago product had healthy legs only the Flash could stay in front of him. Rose is the youngest league MVP in history and he lead the Bulls back to relevance wearing his signature line from Adidas. He captivated audiences in 2011 wearing the AdiZero Rose 1.5.
James Harden
Officially, the reigning MVP is James Harden. The Beard had been an MVP-calibur player for the last two seasons but this year he found the perfect mix of playmaking, scoring… and occasional defense! Shooting guards and the way they play have forever been changed because of James’s swag, style, dominance and grace. Three pairs of MVP branded shoes in commemoration of Harden’s fantastical season have recently released; you can cop them directly from Adidas.
