Before landing his $2,000,000 Adidas deal in 2003, Kevin Garnett signed his first shoe deal with Nike during his rookie year. By 1997, Nike launched Garnett’s first signature shoe, the KG1s, and released several collaborations with the player until the final Air Garnett III in 1999.
Advertisement
Twenty years after KG parted ways with Nike, the former Minnesota Timberwolves star wants to bring the Air Garnett IIIs back. On his recent Instagram story, KG shared a reel from Ray Polanco Jr. that revisited the iconic Nike collaborations by Garnett during his early days in the NBA.
Since parting with Nike, KG signed three separate shoe deals with other brands. In the early 2000s, Garnett was signed with And1, before inking what seemed like a $2,000,000 lifetime deal with Adidas in 2003. In 2010, Garnett again shifted his brand alliance for shoes, signing a multi-million dollar deal with the Chinese brand Anta.
Kevin Garnett seems to be missing his old Nike signature shoes from 1999
Kevin Garnett signed his first shoe deal with Nike during his rookie year in 1995. The collaboration can indeed be regarded as an epic success, given the popularity of KG’s shoes back in the day. The KG1s and the Air Garnetts were the most loved shoes among NBA fans, shooting Nike’s popularity over the top during the late 1990s.
After parting ways with Nike in 1999, Garnett signed a deal with the brand And 1, which did not seem to have ended on a fruitful note for the then emerging superstar. Following Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady’s example, Garnett signed a ‘lifetime’ contract with Adidas in 2003.
Though it has been more than twenty years since the release of KG’s Nike signature shoes, it seems like the Celtics legend still has a soft corner in his heart for them. Sharing a reel on his Instagram story, KG still seemed keen on another collaboration with his former shoe brand Nike. Greatly missing his former Air Garnett III signature shoes, KG wrote in his story’s caption,
“Prob[ably] my fav shoe of all the signature shoes I’ve done. Might need to hit Nike.”
KG wants Nike to bring back his Air Garnett 3 pic.twitter.com/6iGmdyAtwC
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) October 6, 2023
There are several fans who still love KG’s old Nike signature shoes from the ’90s. Perhaps, if Kevin Garnett ever were to re-instate his relationship with Nike, we might even get to see more Kevin Garnett signature shoes, with the 2008 NBA champion probably chiming in with more significant details and customizations to suit his style.
Garnett once paired with Anta to bring a special shoe for the Lakers
Since his draft in 1995, Kevin Garnett has donned several great shoes to leave his mark on the hardwood. Some of his most popular shoes were the Nike Air Garnett series, the Nike Air Flightposite series and the Adidas Garnett series.
In 2010, KG signed with the Chinese brand Anta to bring a special shoe before facing the Lakers in the Finals. The special edition ‘Beat L.A.’ shoes featured the numbers 152-120 on it, which was the Celtics’ all-time record against the Los Angeles side. Though KG wore these shoes in the Finals, Kobe Bryant’s Lakers overwhelmed KG’s Celtics 4-3 to win the championship.
