When the American public thinks of basketball shoes, Skechers is hardly the first brand that comes to mind.
Just take a look at Wikipedia's list of athletes with whom the company has been associated over the years: Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Hall of Fame boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, former quarterback Tony Romo and 2022 U.S. Open champion golfer Matt Fitzpatrick—a lot of big names, but none on the hardwood.
On Wednesday, the company reportedly took steps to change that. Per Shams Charania and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, 76ers center Joel Embiid—along with Knicks forward Julius Randle and Clippers guard Terance Mann—is expected to endorse Skechers’s new basketball division.
76ers' Joel Embiid – the reigning NBA MVP – is nearing an endorsement deal with Skechers as the footwear company launches a basketball division, sources tell me and @MikeVorkunov.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 18, 2023
Story at @TheAthletic on Skechers working on a new star pitchman: https://t.co/a7nXKCv82K
Reactions to the 2023 MVP's apparent new direction were decidedly mixed.
Joel Embiid signed with Sketchers after an MVP season pic.twitter.com/bP6b3lDM17
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 18, 2023
Many referenced the company's unfashionable reputation as compared to rivals like Nike and Adidas.
Embiid signing with Sketchers is huge for their brand recognition. I haven’t seen this many people making fun of sketchers since I wore that pair my mom bought me to the 7th grade.
— Philly’s Phinest Beercan (@BeercanBrain) October 18, 2023
Fans and observers wondered just how lucrative Embiid's purported deal really was.
Skechers gotta be pulling up w/ a crazy bag dawg cuz there’s no way in hell lmaoooo
— Niko (@nikotaughtyou) October 18, 2023
Some (in tongue-and-cheek fashion) gave up on Embiid altogether.
It was a good run https://t.co/V5ATMgvWxO
— Spike Eskin (@SpikeEskin) October 18, 2023
Regardless of the hypothetical check size, a few anti-Skechers firebrands pronounced themselves unable to be persuaded like Embiid reportedly was.
I'm as big a fan of money as everyone else, but you wouldn't catch me trusting my feet on a basketball court to some Skechers lol. https://t.co/1T2dnzChyS
— Jason Timpf (@_JasonLT) October 18, 2023
Skechers’s mettle will be put to the test on Oct. 26, when Philadelphia opens its season against the Bucks.
