D Wade may not have made the All Star Game this year, but it doesn’t matter when you are sitting courtside with Gabrielle Union. I haven’t been keeping up with the endorsers of Li Ning in the NBA. The only big story I’ve heard this year was when former NBA Baller Yi Jianlian, took his shoes off in protest against the brand in the Chinese Basketball League. Yi is a Nike endorser.
Wade is on his fifth release with Li Ning, and I’ve liked every pair. Without having a real chance to see them up close, however, it’s hard to gauge the quality. The shoe does look dope, but a declining Wade is a hard sell for the US market which is probably why the shoes aren’t in GR here in the States.
Tonight helped the brand however as Glenn Robinson III took home the gold ball in this year’s Slam Dunk contest. This would be a good time for the brand to enter the US market as Under Armour has lost the momentum they held and a passing of the torch for Wade could begin to take shape with the correct marketing play.
This is a moment for capitalization, but will Li Ning actually take advantage?