Is There a Nike Conspiracy in This Team USA Basketball Photo?

I love to talk NBA conspiracy theories: frozen envelopes, rigged playoff games, you name it. I don't believe in any of them, of course, but the one involving Nike and this USA basketball team photo is a conspiracy that makes a lot of sense. Darren Rovell eloquently explains exactly what's going on here:

Here's the only thing you have to know in advance. Dwight Howard is the only member of this team who is not sponsored by Nike.

Coach K is sitting. When a team stands, a coach normally stands. Why is this significant? Because Coach K's left foot just happens to be blocking the adidas logo on Dwight Howard's left foot.

Every player is in height order, with the exception of Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh ... What does this allow for? It gives Howard an excuse to hold the ball and be the only player to not have his hand behind his back. This conveniently helps Howard cover the Nike logo on his shorts.

So what do you think, was this photo intentionally set up this way by the folks at Nike? They say no; I say absolutely. A company that spends (literally) hundreds of millions on marketing these NBA stars is not going to allow another shoe company's logo to be seen in a photo like this. Especially when you consider that these players are among the most recognizable individuals that will be seen by a global audience during this summer's Olympics.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

7-03-2008 @ 2:12PM

MICHAEL said...

Isn't D-Wade with converse? He is in the middle of the photo.

7-29-2008 @ 10:44PM

dond said...

you guys are right there might be something here.

7-03-2008 @ 2:16PM

Brad M. said...

This is no different than the original Dream Team accepting the gold medals in Barcelona. Reebok designed the warmup suits the team wore for the ceremony and guys draped American flags over their shoulders to cover up the Reebok logo.

7-03-2008 @ 2:18PM

organiceskimos said...

Converse is owned by Nike. So that's not a problem. And this is incredibly obvious -- can't believe that Nike would deny this when it's so clear.

7-03-2008 @ 2:23PM

kantwistaye said...

Nike owns Converse, so they wouldn't mind D-Wade being right in the middle.

7-03-2008 @ 2:20PM

And MICHAEL, I believe Nike owns Converse now.

7-03-2008 @ 2:29PM

§ said...

Brett, how can you say you DON'T believe in the rigged playoff games, but you DO believe in this?

7-03-2008 @ 2:32PM

Gina said...

Why wouldn't they just have two rows with the taller guys in the back? It seems like that would be a less obvious way to hide the logo.

7-03-2008 @ 2:39PM

Unsilent Majority said...

Coach K IS one of those folks at Nike.

7-03-2008 @ 2:38PM

Dan Daoust said...

But isn't this actually an accomodation by Nike? If Howard is signed up with another sponsor, presumably that means he can't allow himself to be photographed wearing Nike apparel. So isn't this a clever way to photograph Howard with the rest of his teammates? It's not like Howard's uniform has another company's logo on it that Nike is trying to block out.

7-03-2008 @ 2:49PM

bench said...

Except you can see the Nike logo on the right shoulder of Howard. Guess he should have turned his body a bit more.

7-03-2008 @ 3:00PM

I think bench is confused

7-03-2008 @ 3:01PM

nickstoli said...

God, these guys are shameless.

7-03-2008 @ 3:29PM

I would agree that I may be confused if I weren't right. Take a look above the U on the jersey. That's what we like to call a "Nike" logo. The link below shows just that.

http://www.nikebiz.com/media/beijing/index.html

7-04-2008 @ 2:50PM

mb said...

I don't know about that - Nike has most of the players in the league so it doesn't surprise me that almost the whole team is Nike. As for the picture - I think Howard is taller than Bosh so that's not a big deal, but it does seem strange that Coach K is sitting when everyone else is standing. Anyway, this is one picture - I'm sure there will be many many more of Dream Team 2008... If they all look the same maybe then we can talk conspiracy...

7-03-2008 @ 4:59PM

petejayhawk said...

He's just a Nike shill who happens to coach basketball.

7-03-2008 @ 5:08PM

Ryan said...

all this is as confusing as a Bill Walton diatribe

http://www.collegefastbreak.com/

7-03-2008 @ 8:14PM

sunnygreene said...

bench is right. there's a nike logo on howard's right shoulder. actually, you don't need his link to see it. bottomline: so what? are we gonna go after the league and adidas next for sponsoring all nba players' uniforms, making lebron and the nike boys wear nba-adidas pants and jackets during pre-game warmups? it's just business, it's just advertising. get over it.

7-03-2008 @ 8:18PM