explained in the “Sole Man” 30 for 30 that the lure of a sneaker deal was a major reason he decided to skip college for the NBA.

McGrady joined another famous preps-to-pros player, Kobe Bryant, in signing with adidas to try to grow their basketball unit. Three Stripes gave him his first signature sneaker, the T-Mac 1, which was met with positive reviews—even a high school basketball player by the name of LeBron James wore a customized pair during his senior year. All together, T-Mac released six signature models with the brand and his biggest sneaker moment came during the 2004 NBA All-Star, when he wore mismatched patent leather royal blue and red colorways during the game. McGrady never reached his full potential due to injuries and his sneakerline suffered along with it.

Grant Hill: Fila

After Michael Jordan retired for the first time, the NBA was in search of a new talent to carry the torch. They found their potential “Baby MJ” in Grant Hill, who was coming off a successful collegiate career at Duke. Hill quickly became one of the NBA’s brightest stars, earning Co-Rookie of the Year honors with Jason Kidd and being selected to the All-NBA first or second for five straight years, from 1995–96 to 1999–2000. He was also part of the second Dream Team's gold medal effort at the 1996 Olympics.

In 1997, Hill signed a $80 million deal with Fila, which was one of the most lucrative endorsements contracts in history, ranking just behind Jordan’s deal with Nike. Fila was more well-known