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Although Rose ticks all the right marketing boxes, he still has to face LeBron James--as in King James, who has a decadelong head start. Nike recently launched LeBron X, capping an amazing year for James, who collected his first NBA title and then topped it off with Olympic gold. "LeBron is a cultural icon," says Tracy Teague, global creative director for Nike basketball. "Look at the way he dresses. He has his own style." And his own sportswear line to express it. Rose may be Jordan's successor in Chicago, but it's James who is Jordan's commercial extension at Nike. James has helped Nike pad its lead in American sales of basketball shoes: it holds a whopping 44.2% chunk of the U.S. market, four times that of Adidas.
Rapids and Rockslides
Once upon a time, basketball shoes could be fairly described as leather enclosures with some cushioning inside. Today, creating shoes for top players is a combination of NASA engineering and street art. (In 1993, Adidas moved its U.S. operations to Portland, Ore., near Nike's headquarters, to be better positioned to recruit talented designers.) "For all the bluster we do as a brand to blow it up and out, at the end of the day, this is a piece of equipment," Teague says.
And one size of equipment doesn't fit all. Both Rose and James play guard, but that's where most of their similarities end. At 6 ft. 3 in. and 190 lb., Rose is a rushing stream--a set of rapids flashing into spaces before anyone can dam him up. James, who is 6 ft. 8 in. and 250 lb., is a human rockslide rumbling toward the basket, crushing defenders who get in his way. (Another of their similarities: each man can score from anywhere on the floor.)
The D Rose 3 uses technology called a sprint frame, which Adidas has made the basis for some of the world's lightest athletic shoes. The frame locks the heel down to allow the player to push off securely. It also allows grams of weight to be shaved off the upper, with mesh replacing other material. Rose's kicks come in at 25 oz. for a pair of size 9s.
The bulkier James has also demanded lighter shoes; Nike has responded by using pressure maps to determine where it could cut material. To keep James bolted into the shoe, the company uses new composite materials with what it calls a flywire system. "It basically works like a suspension bridge," says Teague, with top and bottom cables. After a decade of trying, Nike has also been able to insert a full-length air bag along the shoe's bottom rather than just in the heel and forefoot, which lowers James' center of gravity.
Information technology has now reached the playing floor: both of these models are available with chip inserts that allow users to monitor their speed, jumping ability and strength--at an added cost. The top-of-the-line LeBron X+ Sport Pack goes for $270, including a kit that lets you use the same chip in other Nike shoes; the basic model is $200. The D Rose 3 starts at $160 and tops out at $200 for a customized model.
Of course, lots of athletes come and go without really moving the sales needle. James' Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade, for example, recently dropped Nike to move to his third brand, the Chinese shoe company Li-Ning. "If you are a great player, it doesn't mean that you can sell a shoe," says Adidas' Norman. "We just happen to have the best guy."
The original version of this article said that Derrick Rose would play in the Chicago Bulls' opening game on Oct. 31. Rose in fact may not play til later in the season. The price of the top-of-the-line LeBron X+Sport Pack was also misstated; it is $270, not $310