Ethan Miller. Getty Images.I'm not sure what the heck is going on, but for some reason, Nike seems to love pissing off some of the best basketball players on the planet.
It started with Jaylen Brown, and Nike likely played a role in keeping him off the U.S. national team.
While the selection of NBA champion Derrick White was a no-brainer, most rational people would agree that not selecting Jaylen Brown was pretty odd, given his performance en route to the title. If you want to debate basketball form and the team's needs now that Kawhi is injured, that's fine. Whatever.
While that would have been the end of Nike's drama with an NBA star, it appears they've upset him yet again, this time with Kevin Durant.
advertisement
So what is this all about? Nike announced their Olympic campaign yesterday, and guess who somehow missed it?
First off, this commercial/campaign is amazing, it says Willem Dafoe is narrating but we all know he's actually the Green Goblin, a perfect choice in my opinion.
But that aside, why wouldn't they put Kevin Durant in this ad? They have Wenby, Lebron, Giannis, and damn, even Kobe all over the place! Kevin Durant is one of only three NBA players with a lifetime contract with Nike (joining MJ and Lebron) and has been with them since 2007, and has released 15-16 versions of the shoe! If there was a current NBA player who should be in the biggest Nike ad of all time, Kevin Durant would be the obvious choice, along with Lebron. Do you want Wenby in it because he's the future? Sure. Do you want to pay tribute to Kobe? No problem. But I don't think it would be sane to not have Kevin Durant in it, and I think he's right to be angry online.
Sure, this might seem silly to some, and this might just seem like another example of KD being “too online” or whatever, but it's not like KD hasn't won. He has two rings (yes, it actually counts. Stop being weird). He's a two-time Finals MVP! Meanwhile Wenby hasn't won anything yet is somehow in an ad about winning? See what I mean?
So, just like with Jaylen Brown, I'm on KD's side with this one. I don't know who is making the decisions at Nike at this point, but they are currently on a two game losing streak.
