{"id":25433,"date":"2024-09-27T09:51:31","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T07:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/?p=25433"},"modified":"2024-09-30T12:31:32","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T10:31:32","slug":"jabbar-player-adidas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/jabbar-player-adidas\/","title":{"rendered":"Jabbar, the player and his adidas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The return of the adidas Jabbar<\/strong> is not only a celebration for sneaker enthusiasts, it is also a way to celebrate the legacy of an indispensable personality for sports and pop culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar<\/strong> had a significant impact on amateur and professional basketball throughout the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. His massive figure occupied many other aspects of life, including being a fighter for minority rights, having written over a dozen books on basketball, social rights, and mystery novels starring Mycroft Holmes<\/strong> (Sherlock’s older brother), and appearing in films such as Aeroplane and Game of Death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kareem was a member of 18 All-Star Games<\/strong>, is the second highest scorer in NBA history<\/strong> (38,387 points in 1,560 games), and was named Finals MVP at the age of 38, among other professional accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vital and sporting career that sometimes overlooks the fact that his sneakers changed the way people thought about marketing. His alliance with adidas<\/a> established the idea of a saga of sneakers with his figure on the tongue.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stopped playing basketball in 1989, but he has never stopped participating in the other activities that make up his life. To explain his influence and that of his shoes, we sought out Antonio Gil<\/strong>, an American sports expert with a strong connection to Kareem’s hometown, New York, and Julia Schoierer<\/strong> (Sneaker Queen), a collector and one of the most well-known figures in Jabbar’s relationship with adidas<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Antonio Gil, on Jabbar’s sporting and cultural influence.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How can we explain Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s influence on basketball to someone who didn’t see him play?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about “game-changing” players. Every now and then someone gets the label, but if there is anyone who can be paired with this statement more than anyone else in the history of basketball, it was Kareem. After dominating high school basketball, the NCAA <\/strong>attempted to limit Abdul-Jabbar’s power by prohibiting players from hanging on the rim (the rule was removed in 1976). However, the rule was a double-edged sword and the center supplanted the dunk with an impressive offensive arsenal, including his famous skyhook, Jabbar’s trademark throughout his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which aesthetic elements are associated with Kareem?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The glasses! Kareem’s trademark was his glasses. A corneal erosion forced him to wear these outrageous glasses, somewhere between diving goggles and those that would later be worn by the legendary singer La Mosca. It is impossible to imagine Kareem without them, just as it is also difficult to see him without the now considered retro ‘minishorts’. Those short shorts, but short shorts, that left little to the imagination and that were the antipodes of the pants below the knees with which Iverson and company played back in the 2000s. We should also not forget about his feet, as Kareem<\/strong> wore adidas<\/a> shoes for almost his entire career, setting himself apart from other brands perhaps more coveted by other players, and even had his own footwear model, which is now back in stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What relevance do Kareem’s other lives have outside basketball?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kareem’s figure goes far beyond basketball. He was always very committed to racial equality and in college, at UCLA, he led a movement that called for black athletes to be treated equally with other athletes. Later, in 1971<\/strong>, he changed his name from Lew Alcindor<\/strong> to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he converted to Islam, and little by little he became the face of many racial and equality struggles, regardless of origin or social class, although paying special attention to the most disadvantaged. In addition, Kareem has taken advantage of his influence and media weight to express his ideas in books that focus on black people who have been important in the history of the United States, but who have been silenced or ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Schoirer, on the influence of adidas Jabbar<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar represent for adidas?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kareem Abdul Jabbar is a true original. A multidisciplinary barrier breaker, who represents everything good sportsmanship stands for. With his many successes and facets, it was only a question of time until this legendary personality’s signature shoes had to be reintroduced to the new generations. Because when it comes to the all time greatest, there is no getting past the Captain<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is an inspirational role model, not only because he broke almost every record in his field, but also because he achieved significant success off court as an activist for civil rights, philanthropist, actor, public speaker, global culture ambassador, best-selling author and cultural critic. His quote:  \u201cI can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind.\u201d reflects his multidisciplinary approach to life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jabbar was the first basketball player to own his adidas basketball shoe, what else was this sneaker pioneering?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With Chuck Taylor the concept of endorsement was born in the sports shoe world. Walter Frazier <\/strong>reinvented the idea of a signature shoe<\/a>, by adding his street style to the selling point. But Kareem Abdul Jabbar took celebrity endorsement to another level. He was the first athlete that not only had his own line of basketball shoes bearing his name, but also had his picture printed on the tongue and the box label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now thats a mic drop! – and also a synonym for the fact that he’s so much more than \u201ajust’ an extraordinary athlete. Because Kareem is a pioneering disruptor on so many more levels!  Outside his commitment to the team he never stopped cultivating his mind, making new friends, expanding his horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Why is it time to reissue the adidas Jabbar?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The return of a Jabbar that pays homage to the heritage of this legendary model is way overdue. Although many think of the superstar <\/strong>as the big game changer from functional to lifestyle shoes, it was actually the Jabbar<\/a> that started adidas’ brand legacy in hip hop style culture already in the 70s. It\u2019s shocking how little knowledge around them is actively circulating. Most people don\u2019t even know about the incredible impact and density of this legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kareem Abdul Jabbar<\/strong> signed to Adidas in 1971<\/strong><\/a>. Up until the mid 70s, before he got his own shoes, he was the face to advertise the adidas Tournament<\/strong>, the adidas Superstar<\/strong> and Superstar II<\/strong>, which featured Cangoran and a half shell.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Beyond promotion he also played a lot in the adidas Superstar II<\/strong>, \u201chalf shell” and adidas Tournament<\/strong>. So it is no surprise that the Jabbars as we know them today are heavily influenced by a mix of the above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One can feel the strong influence these early models had on the Jabbar silhouette as we know it today. The \u201eTournament blue” and the “New Jabbar\u201c only have minor differences on the sole for example, but with the introduction of the blue collar Jabbar Hi by 1978 a toe protecting suede guard and more resilient sole (similar to the half shell) was added and the collar still shows obvious parallels to the ProModel – the equivalent of a hightop Superstar<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in 1977<\/strong> an adidas Abdul Jabbar Tournament Blue<\/strong> (AG1049) was released, followed by two totally new versions: The adidas Jabbar White Hi<\/strong> (AG 1238) and Lo <\/strong>(AG1269) just as they are re-relasing soon, with the first iconic tongue label depicting Jabbar doing his signature move, the hook shot. And the adidas Abdul Jabbar Blue<\/strong> (also cataloged as AG1049!) which featured a two tone vulcanized sole and a thick polyethylene insole. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Choose your favorite detail of this reedition.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My favorite detail of this reeditin is the suede padding on the inner heel, but I must admit packaging these gems in a box that is almost identical to it\u2019s original is right up there with it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two versions, adidas Originals Jabbar High<\/a> and adidas Originals Jabbar Low<\/a>, will be available on October 18 at FOOTDISTRICT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cover photo: Vanity Fair<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The return of the adidas Jabbar is not only a celebration for sneaker enthusiasts, it is also a way to celebrate the legacy of an indispensable personality for sports and pop culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"powerkit_post_featured":[4,7,5,6,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-25433","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25433"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25484,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25433\/revisions\/25484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25433"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=25433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}