The NBA Finals Belong to the Outsiders
At the start of the year, who could have predicted an NBA Finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers? But this is the beauty of the game, delivering a season finale equivalent to Game of Thrones’ best plot twist.Â
This is not just an unconventional matchup between two storied teams. It’s a historic clash of underdogs.
The 2025 NBA Finals is a game of many firsts. It’s the first Finals in a long time where small-market cities have fully taken over the biggest event in the NBA season. And it’s the first time since forever that neither Nike nor adidas has a monopoly on the Finals’ headline stars, proof that sneaker culture is no longer dictated solely by market size or legacy muscle.
Nike and adidas have long dominated the NBA footwear market. As of the 2023-2024 season, according to Sportsfluent, Nike accounted for approximately 67 percent of the shoes worn by NBA players, with its Jordan brand contributing an additional 7.5 percent, totaling nearly 75 percent of the market. adidas held around 11 percent of the market share. This dominance has been consistent.Â
However, the landscape is gradually shifting as emerging brands make inroads into the market. PUMA, for instance, secured approximately 3 percent of the NBA shoe market, while New Balance holds about 2 percent. Chinese brands like Anta and Li-Ning are also gaining traction, with market shares of 1.97% and 1.67%, respectively.
Things are changing.Â
The NBA’s most visible stage doesn’t belong to Boston or Los Angeles but Oklahoma and Indiana, and to two of the league’s most exciting — and best-dressed — young players in the league, former Highsnobiety FRONTPAGE alumni, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton. Maybe more importantly, the game is about to belong to Converse and PUMA, the footwear brands that each player endorses.
Yes, that Converse. The same brand that ruled basketball courts in the ‘60s and ‘70s Chuck-Taylor era, outfitting legends like Dr. J, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. For decades, the brand, now owned by Nike, was synonymous with hoops, but it faded from the spotlight in the '90s.
However, Converse is staging a quiet comeback. Gilgeous-Alexander, possibly the league’s smoothest hooper and a certified tunnel-fit superstar, is at the center of it all. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s breakout MVP season is a beautiful recognition of Converse's longtime belief in his skills— the brand signed him back in 2019 during his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers, well before he rose to All-Star status.
And the Shai 001, his debut signature sneaker, releasing this fall, is a well-received and well-designed sneaker reflective of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s stylish reputation.
On the other end of the hardwood, Tyrese Haliburton is doing work for PUMA. Like Converse, the German sportswear brand was a force in the NBA when it was famously worn by ‘70s legends like Walt "Clyde" Frazier, whose signature shoe defined PUMA hoop shoes for years to come.Â
Long dismissed in the basketball space, PUMA has been playing the long game since reentering the basketball market in 2018, signing a young core — LaMelo Ball, Scoot Henderson, and Haliburton — and investing in solid performance design with a fresh identity. It’s not trying to be Nike. It’s trying to be what’s next. And Haliburton is the culmination of PUMA’s project, a joyful, fearless, and impossible player to pin down.
Notably, the young star’s first signature shoe, the Salehe Bembury-designed Hali 1 sneaker, was unveiled in a timely manner for Haliburton’s NBA Finals debut, signaling PUMA’s recognition of its rising star.
Sure, it’s not LeBron vs. Steph. It’s not New York. Not Los Angeles. But if you love basketball and you love basketball shoes, the 2025 NBA Finals are poised to be the freshest in years — and the beginning of something bigger.
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