Adidas Sparks NBA Jersey Uproar, Fans Reject Nike’s Holiday Branding Play

Since its first Christmas Day games in 1947, the NBA has made Christmas Day a near-annual tradition by airing games.

This gives the league a built-in stage for storytelling and brand visibility during one of the country’s biggest cultural moments.

Back in 2015, the NBA made headlines for holiday-themed uniforms designed by Adidas and worn by every team. The look created a rare moment of full-league visual unity.

Ten years later, in 2025, the games returned, but the uniforms did not.

Nike, now the league’s exclusive outfitter, opted out of reviving the tradition.

And Adidas seized the moment, posting a throwback image of its 2015 design featuring a Chicago Bulls jersey, Stance socks, and Derrick Rose sneakers.

The caption read simply, “Christmas Day fits used to be elite…”

And fans immediately understood the subtext.

The post spread quickly, with NBA audiences using it as another outlet to air their frustration with Nike’s handling of holiday uniforms.

The response was not nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, with a reaction to a tradition many fans believe was removed without a worthy replacement.

Christmas Day is a League-Wide Moment

For several seasons, NBA Christmas Day games carried a distinct look, with the jerseys not tied to city branding or long-term merchandise cycles.

They were one-offs designed specifically for the day, worn by every team on the schedule, and that consistency mattered.

When Kobe Bryant played his final Christmas Day game in 2015 with the Los Angeles Lakers, the uniform itself felt ceremonial.

The holiday design gave the games a shared tone across markets, stars, and rivalries.

After Adidas lost NBA uniform rights following the 2016 to '17 season, Nike discontinued the Christmas jerseys.

In their place came the annual City Edition program, which emphasizes local storytelling and long-term retail appeal.

While City Edition uniforms generate merchandise variety, they fragmented the shared visual language Christmas Day once had.

Adidas’ post landed because it reminded fans of that contrast without spelling it out.

The frustration is not limited to fans, as LeBron James, one of Nike’s most visible signature athletes, has repeatedly spoken about the loss of Christmas Day uniforms.

Here’s how uniform licensing has shifted over the past two decades, and where it stands today:

Top Players Didn’t Hide Their Feelings

In December 2023, LeBron James wrote on X that not having Christmas Day uniforms “really sucks,” describing the experience of seeing them in the locker room as feeling like a gift.

The year before, he publicly questioned why the tradition stopped at all.

For players, like LeBron, this could all be in vain.

Why? Nike currently holds exclusive uniform rights across the NBA until at least 2037.

Nike’s NBA partnership gives it control over on-court aesthetics. But protests by top players certainly feed public opinion.

And that may just be the reason Adidas' post landed so well.



It didn't target Nike. Instead, it tapped into something fans (and even players) were already saying.

It understood the NBA’s cultural memory and brought it back at the right time.

Here’s what the reaction revealed:

• When a moment matters, tradition can mean more than variety.
• A shared look across the league can elevate star power, not dim it.
• Nostalgia only works when it comes from a place of real history, and Adidas had that history.

The NBA continues to grow its Christmas Day slate globally, but the visual experience has changed, as Adidas did not promise a return or pitch a product.

The whole conversation was reignited by simply reminding fans of a moment the league once treated differently.

Our Take: Was Adidas Trolling or Just Reminding the NBA What It Lost?

Whether it was a smart move is too soon to tell. But the post clearly struck a chord, even with some of Nike’s own athletes.

Adidas isn’t alone in turning memory into a marketing tool.

In 2022, Pepsi brought back Crystal Pepsi through a low-key contest. Fans shared photos with a 1990s theme for a chance to win limited-edition bottles. It stirred up interest without putting the drink back on shelves.

Coca‑Cola took a similar approach in 2025, bringing back its “Share a Coke” campaign in over 120 countries.

The original idea (swapping the logo for first names) helped people feel more connected. This time, the company added a digital layer with custom cans, app tools, and social content.



This smart use of personalization and nostalgia helped Coca-Cola reconnect with a new generation and bring fresh life to a familiar idea.

In both the Pepsi and Coca‑Cola campaigns, the product stayed the same. What changed was the feeling around it.

With its throwback post, Adidas also didn’t release anything new. But it revived a meaningful moment for NBA fans and showed how a well-timed move can dominate the conversation.

Whether Nike brings back Christmas Day uniforms, I think, may depend on whether the call for a shared identity becomes too loud to ignore.

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