AP John Wall is very close to returning to the court for the Wizards, and when he does finally make it back, he’ll do so with adidas on his feet.
Wall and adidas announced a long-term partnership agreement on Thursday, which marked the end of Wall’s deal to represent Reebok. From the official release:
“I’ve enjoyed my time with Reebok and I’m grateful for everything we accomplished the last few years,” said Wall. “Now, I’m excited to return to the court soon and begin my new partnership with adidas. They’ve changed the game with new technology and style and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
“John Wall is a great talent and his quickness, superior athleticism and personality make him one of the most exciting young players in the game,” said Lawrence Norman, adidas vice president of global basketball. “We’re excited to partner with John to continue to develop new innovative products and grow our brand and business.”
Reebok was releasing ads for Wall as recently as November of last year, but apparently a decision was made that it wasn’t worth it for the company to keep him on its roster.
Wall joins the likes of Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Ricky Rubio, Kenneth Faried, and Iman Shumpert as part of the adidas family. He’s expected to be featured in future ad campaigns, as well as have a hand in developing basketball footwear and apparel.
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Mike Conley tried. Tony Allen had some success, particularly late in the game, but even he was not consistent. Jerryd Bayless and everyone else that tried pretty much got torched. For the third game in a row, Tony Parker’s quickness off the dribble was the thing Memphis really had no answer for, and his penetration…
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Mike Conley on verge of stardom as Grizzlies on verge of elimination
May 26, 2013, 1:39 AM EDT
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Where is the line between the NBA’s stars and the league’s merely good players? Star is such a loaded term – full of reputation and production and marketing and talent and style – that, occasionally, it can be useful to sort through all the distractions and look at objective measures. Let’s examine players in order…
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Spurs take commanding 3-0 lead over Grizzlies with overtime win in Game 3
May 26, 2013, 12:58 AM EDT
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The Grizzlies had been here before. After falling behind two games to none in the first round of the playoffs against the Clippers, first by losing big in Game 1 and then by losing at the buzzer in Game 2, Memphis learned what it would take to crawl out of that hole and make the…
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Pacers broadcaster rips Miami Heat fans, calls them ‘losers’ for leaving Game 2 early
May 25, 2013, 8:00 PM EDT
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It’s not uncommon in the NBA to have a team’s radio or television broadcasting crew unabashedly slant their coverage in favor of the home team. In fact, many clubs prefer it, even if the coverage can be off-putting to the more neutral observers forced to listen to a particular broadcast. The Pacers fall into this…
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Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins says flopping shouldn’t be a part of the game
May 25, 2013, 6:30 PM EDT
Reuters
There was a critical play late in the Grizzlies’ Game 2 loss to the Spurs where Tony Allen was brought down by Manu Ginobili on a fast break attempt. Ginobili grabbed Allen’s off arm and dragged him out of the air to prevent an easy layup, causing Allen to fall awkwardly as he came to…
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Golden State’s Mike Malone has been in the group with Brian Shaw and Mike Budenholzer the past few years — top assistant coaches that get interviews but have yet to land in the big chair. That could be about to change for Malone — it’s a good thing when the owner wants you. And the…
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Dwyane Wade delivers an elbow to the head of Lance Stephenson in Game 2 (VIDEO)
May 25, 2013, 3:30 PM EDT
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Late in the fourth quarter of the Pacers’ Game 2 win over the Heat, Dwyane Wade elevates to try to get past Lance Stephenson just after he crosses half court. It appeared as though Wade was simply trying to hustle to get into defensive position, and had no intention of making any malicious contact. But…
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Preview: Did Grizzlies figure out Spurs or will Game 3 be more of the same?
May 25, 2013, 2:01 PM EDT
Reuters
There have been seven quarters — 84 minutes — of the Western Conference Finals where the Spurs have looked much the better team. But the last 17 minutes — the fourth quarter and overtime, Memphis erased a 16-point deficit, pushed the game into overtime and made this start to look like the close series we…
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Kevin Durant gets Nike to join him in donating over $1 million to help with Oklahoma tornado relief
May 25, 2013, 12:30 PM EDT
Kevin Durant has a reputation of being not only one of the best basketball players in the game, but also as one of the most genuine human beings to be associated with the league today. And he keeps doing things to solidify that image. After a devastating tornado ripped through parts of Oklahoma, Durant personally…
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George Hill says only God is scarier to face than LeBron James
May 25, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT
After the Pacers took Game 2 from the Heat by defending well enough to get LeBron James to turn the ball over on consecutive possessions with the game on the line, Gorge Hill was asked if there was any player in the world more dangerous with the ball in that situation. “Yeah, it’s only like…
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Raptors closing in on hiring Masai Ujiri away from Nuggets to head up basketball operations
May 25, 2013, 9:30 AM EDT
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The momentum is building in the talks between current Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri and the Raptors, and the two sides are in negotiations to move forward with an agrement to bring the reigning Executive of the Year to Toronto. After a meeting that took place in Colorado on Friday, things seem to be progressing at…
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LeBron James commits two costly turnovers in final minute of Game 2 loss to Pacers
May 25, 2013, 8:00 AM EDT
LeBron James won Game 1 against the Pacers in the final moments, with two drives to the basket for scores in the final 10 seconds of overtime. To say he lost Game 2 in a similar manner would be overstating things a bit, but James did commit two turnovers on consecutive possessions with under a…
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Reuters
Coming into this series, the Miami Heat gave the proper lip service to respecting the Indiana Pacers, but did they really respect them? The Heat had gone 45-3 since Feb. 3, you had to wonder if the Pacers really had their attention They do now. The question going into this series wasn’t if the Pacers…
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Pacers get big games from Roy Hibbert and Paul George, take Game 2 from Heat to even the series
May 25, 2013, 12:45 AM EDT
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After the way Game 1 between the Heat and the Pacers went down, Game 2 could have gone one of two ways. Either Miami could have received the wake-up call delivered by Indiana and then come out with a dominant and inspired performance, or the Pacers could continue to make life difficult for the defending…
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LeBron James-Paul George matchup reaches awesome levels in Game 2
May 25, 2013, 12:06 AM EDT
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As the final seconds of the third quarter wound down, Paul George dribbled at the top and sized up LeBron James, arguably the NBA’s best wing defender. Without the benefit of LeBron overplaying him or the absence of a rim protector, George drove left past LeBron and ferociously dunked over Chris Andersen as a foul…
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Paul George dunks, LeBron answers with three in wild end to third quarter (VIDEO)
May 24, 2013, 11:11 PM EDT
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This series is so much fun. Paul George just absolutely crushed the Birdman Chris Andersen with a dunk. Just crushed him. LeBron James comes back down and drains a three. Then a little hand slap at midcourt. Respect. These are two teams standing toe-to-two trading blows, and most teams wither when they do that with…
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Pacers hit with back-to-back technicals. Because Scott Foster, that’s why.
May 24, 2013, 9:45 PM EDT
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There is no way that should have been a technical. It’s the playoffs, we want emotion, we want a little feisty play… and frankly that wasn’t that feisty. There are Tuesday night games in Minnesota in January that were more emotional than that play. But Scott Foster has the fastest trigger in the NBA for…
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Here is our regular look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points like Jon Stewart loves Fox News gaffes… • Conan O’Brien gives us (fake, obviously)…
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AP
First Jim Boeheim has Carmelo Anthony’s back, now it’s time for another coach to get a former star’s back. Kentucky coach John Calipari was on the Adam “the Bull” & Dustin Fox show on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, and when asked about Derrick Rose and his injury — and the heat he took in…
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In Hollywood, they call that chewing up the scenery. Memphis guard Tony Allen has been fined $5,000 by the league for his overacting — technically violating the league’s anti-flopping policy — on that play. Make no mistake, Manu Ginobili fouled Allen hard on this crucial late-game play — the Grizzlies were down four with :26…
