“If you want to play like Mike, you must buy his sneakers,” was the marketing message peddled by Nike when they launched the Air Jordans in 1985. With the purpose of using the power of sport to move the world forward, Nike has signed partnerships with athletes spanning across varying sports. Hence, a certain Georgia Bulldogs star doesn’t shy away from the fact that she loves the $30 billion brand and would want to collaborate with them in the future. However, that does not mean she isn’t fascinated by rivals like Adidas, which has recently extended a contract with Anthony Edwards.

Asia Avinger was present in an exclusive chat with EssentiallySports on their Dual Threat Show when she was asked about growing up during the time Nike had revolutionized the sneaker industry. Taking note of the same, Avinger told our correspondent BG12 that she loves Nike but also has a place in her heart for Anthony Edwards’ Adidas sneakers.

Asia Avinger: “I definitely have biases towards Nike just because I’ve loved it for so long but I also love other brands like how Anthony Edwards is working with Adidas like the shoe that he dropped.”

Edwards first launched his sneakers as part of a deal with Adidas in the 2023-24 NBA season. The AE1 became quite popular in the basketball community and had budding athletes buying them as soon as they dropped. This propelled Adidas to launch a low-cut version of the shoes. He further signed an eight-figure, multi-year contract with Adidas in July this year. The shoes became so popular with the masses that the Jordan Brand even took a shot at Edwards in an ad. The ad showed a billboard (that celebrated the launch of Edwards’ AE1) being covered by a construction worker in Nike’s latest Jayson Tatum outdoor advertisement.

However, Edwards stands as the only Adidas-signed player in Team USA during the Paris Olympics. Hence, the sporting giant also plans to release three-colorway sneakers inspired by the quadrennial event. The three enticing colors are blue, orange, and white, and most probably will hit the shelves during August and as per reports, they will be priced at $120 for adult sizes. Meanwhile, Avinger also made sure to give some love to Nike.

Asia Avinger voices her love for Nike

While Avinger was growing up, she discussed being influenced by Nike due to their top-notch products and genius marketing. Not only this but she was also fascinated by the Swoosh brand because it featured some athletes at the top of their game.

Asia Avinger added, “Yes! I believe like all the top athletes in the world during my time growing up were Nike athletes or like they had partnership with them. And so just seeing, seeing some of my inspirations or some people that I looked up to wearing their gear, it just made, it just made the brand that much cooler.”

In 2003, the billion-dollar company extended its influence to modern-day professionals by signing LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Avinger met Bryant while she was a coaching assistant at the Mamba Academy and also got a chance to practice with him while she was on Team Taurasi. And what better way to honor your basketball idol than to wear his signature shoes? And probably, that is where Avinger’s love for Nike stems from.

It will be interesting to see which brand signs an NIL deal with Avinger. Meanwhile, fans will be excited to check out both Nike and Adidas sneakers as the two compete for the upper hand in the sports industry.