Rose, Lillard go all in with adidas Boost technology
Boost changes everything. For adidas, this is not just another marketing statement but a guarantee.
The summer of 2014 here in Las Vegas, Nevada will be marked by adidas as the time when they changed the game of basketball by introducing their Boost cushioning technology to the hardcourt.
Two NBA stars were chosen to be the faces of this launch in Derrick Rose and Damian Lillard. Two pairs of shoes were selected as the first in basketball to carry the Boost cushioning technology, the Crazylight Boost and the D Rose 5.
Las Vegas was the perfect setting for the launch because adidas went all in, and by doing this, they made sure that basketball players at every level will get a good payout.
The event started with former NBA player and current media personality Greg Anthony introducing Robbie Fuller, the Design Director of adidas.
Fuller is responsible for overseeing the creation of lead footwear concepts as they transition from the adidas Innovation team to basketball and running. Recent projects include the adizero Crazylight, Crazyquick, and Springblade shoes.
“Boost is amazing. The innovation team worked on it, they developed it. The first time we tried it, the energy return was off the chart. They showed how elastic it was and that it was mad comfortable. When I heard that, I said ‘This has got to make its way to basketball,’” Fuller said.
“We tried it on and figured out that we have two optimized ways to do it. If you want to have a super lightweight experience mixed with that energetic play, then you go with the Crazy Light Boost. And if you want that full, extreme, heel-to-toe, non-stop energy, then you wear the D Rose 5 Boost. When anybody puts this one, it’s the same thing. It’s a smile on their face and disbelief like the reaction while watching the video. It’s the truth so it’s easy to talk about it.”
Then Anthony introduced Rose, who walked in wearing a fresh pair of his D Rose 5s in the Brenda colorway, again paying his respect to his mother.
“They gave me the shoe a year before it actually came out and I’ve actually trained with it rehabbed with it, and it’s the best, the most responsive, and most comfortable shoe I’ve ever played on and I’m blessed to be one of the first to try it,” Rose said. “I’m ready [to play] right now. I’m anxious. When I came back the last time, I wanted it too bad, but this time I’m just going to let the game come to me.”
After Rose, Lillard came into the stage to launch the Crazylight Boost.
“I can back up whatever Robbie says with this shoe because I was a part of the process,” said Lillard. Luckily for the Trail Blazers point guard, the office of adidas is in Portland, which meant that he could be hands-on in every step.
“It helps a lot that they know where I am and I know where they are. They could drive to my house or wait for me to drive to the office. If we have a meeting or if there’s something they need me to see, I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”
After Lillard’s interview, Rose got back on stage for photos with their fresh kicks from adidas.
The launch seemed like it was slowing down as the interviews were over but when the media members picked up their gear to prepare for a pick-up game, they got a very nice surprise when NBA stars such as Joakim Noah, Jeff Teague, Jrue Holiday, Aaron Afflalo, Marcus Smart, and Tim Hardaway Jr. showed up.
Apparently, the media would play against these players in friendly, once-in-a-lifetime three-on-three games.
They were crossed over, dunked on, and blocked, but it was a memorable moment to cap the launch of two memorable shoes.
The post Rose, Lillard go all in with adidas Boost technology appeared first on SLAMonline Philippines.
