"We can confirm that we have agreed to a lifetime relationship with LeBron that provides significant value to our business, brand and shareholders," Nike said in a statement. "We have already built a strong LeBron business over the past 12 years, and we see the potential for this to continue to grow throughout his playing career and beyond."
Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant signed a 10-year, $300-million deal with Nike - which ultimately outbid Under Armour - last summer. Sources told Rovell that James' agreement "easily surpasses" what the four-time scoring champion is making.
NBA shoe deals: LeBron (Nike, forever), Harden (Adidas, 2028), Durant (Nike, 2024) & Curry (Under Armour, 2024)
Nike currently has 13 different versions of James' shoe - the most for any athlete not named Michael Jordan - which are estimated to top $400 million in annual sales this year.
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Don't expect Rajon Rondo to shoot the lights out, but definitely count on the Sacramento Kings floor general to find the open man - in fancy fashion, no less.
Rondo almost tallied yet another triple-double Sunday night versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Although he fell three points and one rebound shy of such an impressive individual achievement, he did produce a memorable behind-the-back pass from the baseline out to sharpshooter Marco Belinelli, who was awaiting the kick-out at the 3-point line.
Even living under the world's largest rock couldn't prevent one from being at least mildly aware of Stephen Curry's recent meteoric rise.
From newborn Dubs supporters to 105-year-old superfans, the Golden State Warriors' sharpshooting, ball-handling wizard is beloved by all - even when he's in enemy territory such as the Brooklyn Nets' home turf.
Take this young fan, for instance - he seems more than pleased with his signed Curry jersey (see: vocal cord-straining screams, popping eyeballs, and "I'm gonna cry" proclamations).
SALT LAKE CITY - Derrick Favors scored a career-high 35 points, and the Utah Jazz rallied for a 122-119 overtime win against Paul George and the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.
Favors converted a three-point play to help send the game to overtime, and then added six more points in the extra period. Favors had a layup off a pick-and-roll with Trey Burke with 17.1 seconds left, and George Hill missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Indiana wasted career-high 48 points from George, who carried the offensive load for much of the night. But two missed jumpers down the stretch of regulation helped Utah come back.
Favors also grabbed 13 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward had 22 points, five rebounds and five assists. Burke added 19 points and seven assists.
The Jazz jumped to a 24-12 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 10-0 run and some cold shooting from the Pacers. They started the game shooting 27 percent from the field and 1 for 6 from behind the arc.
Indiana chipped away thanks to 20 first-half points from George, but a turnover and a Burke layup seconds before halftime lifted the Jazz to a 57-52 lead at the break.
The Jazz started the third quarter with a 14-2 run, but George continued to hit shot after shot. The teams were tied at 84 heading into the fourth quarter.
The laws of basketball simply do not apply to Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry.
With the Toronto Raptors making their best push to hand the defending champions their first loss of the season, Curry pulled out two ridiculous threes to keep his team in the lead late in the fourth quarter.
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LeBron James was saddened by the news of Kobe Bryant's decision to retire at the end of the season.
They were billed as rivals, shoehorned into opposite narratives, and their respective greatness was propped up as the ultimate talking point in the post-Jordan era, but at the heart of it all, James was a great admirer of Bryant.
"It was kinda sad, actually. Obviously it was going to happen at some point to everybody, but to know that this is Kobe's last year, it's just sad man. He's had a hell of a career," James told reporters at shootaround Tuesday.
In the 12 minutes James spoke, he didn't hesitate to lavish Bryant with praise, and told countless parables of how Bryant influenced his life and his career. He had posters of Bryant in his room as a kid, Bryant gave him his sneakers when James met him for the first time as a junior in high school, and James even wore his hair in a "nappy a-- fro" to mimic Bryant.
Most importantly, they shared the court on the world's biggest stages - with the exception of one: the NBA Finals.
They appeared destined for a long-awaited Finals matchup in 2009, but James' Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Cavaliers had finished the regular season with 66 wins, while Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers had 65.
"I didn't hold up my end of the bargain in 2009 for the fans, for us, to meet in the Finals," James said. "I know the world wanted to see it. I wanted it, we wanted it. He held up his end and I didn't hold up my end, and I hate that. I hate that that didn't happen."
Bryant's Lakers went on to defeat the Magic in the first of back-to-back title runs.
James, however, did eventually play with Bryant on the 2008 and 2012 "Redeem Teams" for Team USA and spoke admirably about Bryant's leadership and character in leading those squads.
"I knew he was on another level during our first game we played Spain in 2008 in the preliminary rounds. The first play of the game he ran through the chest of Pau Gasol and got a flagrant. And Pau Gasol was his teammate with the Lakers. I was like, 'Yeah, this guy is on another level.' Yeah. I loved it," James said.
Finally, James spoke about how Bryant inspired him to work harder as a player, and how he'll miss his relentless work ethic.
"Every day that I didn't want to work out or every day I felt like I couldn't give more, I always thought of Kobe. Because I knew that he was getting better and I was like, 'Man, if you take a day off, he's going to take advantage of it. You cannot take a day off. You cannot take a day off.' And I used him for my motivation throughout my career because I always knew that he was working on something. So, that part will be missed a little bit."
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Steph Curry is one of the leading contenders for Sports Illustrated's 2015 Sportsman of the Year. You can see the full list and the entire series of essays that make the argument for each candidate here.
A few years ago, I was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office with Stephen Curry. He had battled one injury after another and we didn’t know if his ankle would ever get better. I remember thinking to myself, “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. This can’t be his life story. This can’t be it.” Steph is one of the best people—not just players—I’ve ever been around and I just remember feeling devastated that he wasn’t going to get a chance to reach his potential.
It’s easy to look at Steph now and see a player who has it all, but that wasn’t always the case. He was doubted so much coming into the league. He slid to No. 7 during the 2009 draft and it’s been pretty well documented that we weren’t his first choice. He went through three head coaches in his first three years, all of which were losing seasons. He got hurt, people wrote him off. They said he couldn’t play point guard. They said he couldn’t defend. They said he’d never lead a team to the playoffs.
He proved them all wrong.
Right after we won the NBA championship in June, Steph and I had a moment in the locker room. There weren’t really words exchanged as much as emotions. My recollection of the night was that we had basically reached the mountaintop. There’s nothing higher than winning a title in pro sports. There’s nowhere else to go. I looked around the room and saw the happiest group of people I’ve ever seen. Everyone was going crazy. But when I looked at Steph, I had a moment of reflection. It kind of hit me what he had gone through. To prove all of those people wrong, to overcome such long odds, it was just incredible to see him achieve his dreams. I looked at him and said, “You deserve this.” In life, if you work hard enough, you do get what you deserve. I had a flashback to that doctor’s office and thought about how far Steph had come. It was such a gratifying moment.
People are well aware by now of Steph’s accolades on the basketball court. He’s arguably the best player in the world. He’s the reigning MVP and an NBA champion. But what people don’t know is his character, integrity and authenticity are also world class. Combine all of his traits and you have a person that is elite in every way. Everything he does is with the highest character. He’s a great husband, father, son, brother, friend and teammate. He’s a joy to be around. He has a daughter the same age as mine and I’ve gotten to see how he approaches fatherhood and how he treats his wife. It’s beyond imaginable. I’ve learned so much from him. He’s the guy you hope your daughter marries.
Ask anyone in our organization and you’ll universally get a positive response. He treats everyone with respect. In his MVP speech last spring, he made a point to mention our security guards and equipment managers by name. There’s nothing arrogant about him. He’s confident, but not cocky. He works extremely hard when no one is watching. What you hope for in an organization is someone who represents your group in the most humane way possible. The Warriors could not have picked a better candidate—or for that matter the entire NBA. I represented players as an agent for 14 years and I know a lot about players in this league. I’ve never come across one like Steph.
Most of the time when you meet a famous person you’re disappointed, because they didn’t live up to the image you’d created in your head. Sometimes you meet a famous person that does meet your expectations and you say, “Wow, they really are great.” And sometimes, on the most rare of occasions, you meet someone who exceeds every expectation imaginable. Steph is that guy. He’s the rarest breed. You hear all these great things about him and not only are they true, but there’s even more the public will never know.
The most impressive thing about Steph’s basketball career is he’s gotten better every year. It’s probably true over his entire life. I don’t think he’s ever not improved from one season to the next. That’s pretty tough to do when you win MVP and lead a team to 67 wins and an NBA title—but just look at what he’s doing this season. He’s taken his game to heights that we couldn’t have even imagined.
I’m fortunate enough to get to see Steph work on his craft behind the scenes. If you were to watch him train you would understand how he does these insane things when everyone is watching. If we all worked with the same focus and efficiency he approaches the game with, we’d all be incredibly accomplished people. He hones his shot every day and he’s already the best shooter in the world. When I watch him drain a 30-footer off the dribble, I’m never surprised. You don’t see all the work he puts into that shot, that exact situation. He’s practiced everything.
Not only was Steph the most dominant basketball player on the planet in 2015, but he also helped change the game. It’s no longer unusual to take 10 or 11 three-pointers in a game because he pioneered a new way of thinking. He’s partially responsible for the way the perimeter game has been turned into a weapon in the NBA. He exploited a rule that a lot of people knew was there but had yet to master. He’s made the three-point line his and is executing with astonishing efficiency. To lead a team like he did last year and evolve the game along the way, it’s something people are going to remember for a very long time. Every championship gets its proper due, but some stand out a little more than others. I think this one might be the exception.
To see Steph preserve, succeed and reach his potential has been a tremendous experience. It’s why we love sports. It’s why Stephen Curry should be SI’s 2015 Sportsman of the Year.
