New York City, NY - KICKS CREW, the leading global digital marketplace for authentic sneakers and apparel, reports that the recent NBA player signings and disruptive designs by emerging basketball brands like Li-Ning / Way Of Wade, ANTA, and Rigorer are making a major splash in the marketplace.
The landscape of brands participating in the NBA signature sneaker market is changing, and KICKS CREW has noticed the shift in demand firsthand. In the past year, KICKS CREW has seen a 560% increase in Li-Ning/Way Of Wade US market share despite the brand’s signature Way of Wade line having existed for over a decade. Now, the brand holds the second-highest US market share of performance basketball sneakers, just behind Nike.
Li-Ning/Way Of Wade’s rise to become a power player amongst legacy brands in the US basketball market has come with the help of the sky-high demand for the Li-Ning/Way Of Wade Way of Wade 10, which received a 10x spike in GMV on KICKS CREW year over year. Older silhouettes like the Way of Wade 8 and 7 have also surged in demand.
Multiple factors can be attributed to the rise in popularity of Li-Ning/Way Of Wade, including NBA star endorsements, innovative designs, and community engagement at the grassroots level. However, in the end, the on-court performance is the true testament to a sneaker’s popularity.
Rigorer, a new entrant into the signature model market, has come into the game blazing with the signing of Laker’s guard Austin Reaves and the release of his signature sneaker, the AR1. Since its release last summer, the Rigorer AR1 has become a Top 10 best-selling basketball sneaker on KICKS CREW, boosting Rigorer’s market share above that of Puma. For the AR1, its accessible price point of $100 and highly rated performance reviews have been the primary drivers behind its initial launch success.
Alongside Li-Ning/Way Of Wade and Rigorer’s massive year, ANTA has climbed the ranks following the announcement of a notable signing. When ANTA signed Kyrie Irving in July, ANTA’s monthly market share of US basketball sneakers on KICKS CREW spiked, increasing by 600%. When Irving first donned the Shock Wave 5 on-court in the following months, ANTA’s US market share doubled almost instantaneously. Irving's impact on the demand for ANTA’s Shock Wave 5 is electrifying but understandable. Just a year ago, three of the top five most-sold basketball sneakers were Nike Kyrie models. All the data points to the Mavericks guard’s first signature sneaker with ANTA being a smash hit.
With 361° recently signing Nikola Jokic, the upcoming Way of Wade 11, and the anticipated release of Kyrie Irving’s first signature sneaker with ANTA, the momentum is only beginning, and a new wave of brands is taking over the basketball sneaker market.
