NBA fans applaud Anthony Edwards promo from Adidas basketball after his poster dunk on Adem Bona: “Freaking brilliant”

Adidas Basketball and Anthony Edwards are doing a great job of hyping up the Timberwolves star's new AE1 sneaker.

NBA fans applaud Anthony Edwards promo from Adidas basketball after his poster dunk on Adem Bona: “Freaking brilliant”

Anthony Edwards

With LeBron James and Stephen Curry ascending to senior denizen status, the title of ‘Face of the NBA’ will soon be up for grabs again. The likes of Cooper Flagg, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum have all been mentioned in this conversation recently. As players, they are excellent on the floor at what they do. But marketing is a business of relatability. And Anthony Edwards laps the field in this regard.

The Timberwolves superstar has graduated from being a young, upcoming star to being a superstar in his own right. What sets Anthony Edwards apart from the other names mentioned here is how genuine he can come across as. What people get from Ant in person is something they can always expect based on how he conducts himself. Edwards is a brash young man, self-confident yet assured in his demeanor.

YouTube video

Another thing that marks him out as a unique marketing prospect is his athletic ability. This young man from Atlanta has been blessed with 99.9th percentile genetics. The high-flyer readily flaunts his vertical range whenever he gets opportunities – whether in half-court or transition. There aren’t many sights in sports more impressive than a man flying 44 inches in the air and putting seven-footers on posters.

It’s precisely this image that the Adidas Basketball sneaker line hopes to channelize through the 23-year-old. Already a playoff superstar by virtue of his performances in the last three postseasons, Edwards is now a recognizable member of the general American public’s consciousness. After his dunk on John Collins put him on the map, Edwards added Adem Bona to his list of posterized players yesterday.

Adidas Basketball never misses an opportunity to promote the flagship AE1 sneaker. With Edwards putting another vintage poster into people’s memories, they seized the opportunity to repost their viral AE1 sneaker promo.

The video starts with a post-mortem of sorts for a ‘crime scene’. Investigators are pictured analyzing the scene where a posterized defender is being analyzed. The investigators attribute the dunker’s athletic excellence to his sneaker, noting the various production technologies that the AE1 shoe comes with. But before they know it, Edwards comes flying over them, putting the investigators on their own posters.

NBA fans hail Adidas and Anthony Edwards for AE1 sneaker promo

As is apparent while watching the video, Edwards’ vertical ability has been used quite well to sell his signature sneaker. NBA fans universally gave their approval for the marketing involved in this promotion. Complex Sneakers, who run the best-engaged shoe page on social media, posted a tweet stamping theirs.

Their reviews were solidly met with affirmation from other fans.

Edwards also hit an improbably tough game-winning 3-pointer over two defenders. His performance on the night prompted some praise from CJ McCollum, who praised his evolution over the years.