words // Brandon Richard
As we approach the weekend, it's once again time to recap the last week of NBA footwear from adidas Basketball.
On the floor, there may be no team as surprising as the Atlanta Hawks, currently seeded third in the East despite losing Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams during the offseason. One of the main reasons for the team's success is the play of Josh Smith, who is filling up the stat sheets with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. This season, Josh Smith is doing his damage in Player Exclusive colorways of the adidas adizero Ghost 2.
Also playing some quality under the radar ball for Team adidas this season is Orlando Magic swingman Arron Afflalo, the only player currently lacing up the low-cut version of the adizero Crazy Light 2. In the first three games of the Magic's west coast trip against the Lakers, Warriors and Jazz, Afflalo led the team to a 2-1 record with averages of 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Good news for the youth of the brand. Yesterday, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard was named the NBA's Rookie of the Month for October/November. That comes as no surprise, as Lillard led all rookies in scoring (18.4 ppg), assists (5.9 apg) and steals (1.38 spg) in 16 games. His scoring average tied for 16th in the NBA, and his 39 3-pointers ranked sixth among league leaders.
If things weren't already looking up for adidas Basketball this season, they're about to get better in the months ahead. Veteran Chauncey Billups started working his way back into the Los Angeles Clippers lineup last week, adding wisdom and depth to a team that plans on contending next spring. As we reported Monday, Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio was spotted putting up shots in his home gym, as was Chicago Bulls floor General Derrick Rose. On top of that, you have Iman Shumpert and his flat top participating in drills for the Knicks. So the best of adidas Basketball is still to come.
Check out the latest round of on-court adidas Hoops sightings in today's NBA Sneaker Watch.
Ricky Rubio - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2 PE
Dwight Howard - adidas adizero Howard Light
Robin Lopez - adidas Crazy Shadow
Austin Rivers & Antawn Jamison - adidas adizero Ghost 2
Arron Afflalo - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2 Low
Jeff Teague - adidas adizero Crazy Light Low
Devin Harris - adidas Crazy Shadow
Josh Smith - adidas adizero Ghost 2 PE
Kenneth Faried - adidas adizero Ghost 2
Sebastian Telfair - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2
Derek Fisher - adidas adizero Crazy Light Low
Avery Bradley - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2
Damian Lillard - adidas Rose 773
Darren Collison - adidas Crazy Shadow
Ersan Ilyasova - adidas adizero Ghost 2
Tim Duncan - adidas Flight Path PE
Harrison Barnes - adidas Rose 773
Mike Conley - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2
Jrue Holiday - adidas Crazy Shadow PE
Danilo Gallinari - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2
Serge Ibaka - adidas adizero Ghost 2
Andrei Kirilenko - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2
Derrick Rose - adidas Rose 3 "Brenda"
Jimmy Butler - adidas Top Ten 2000
Taj Gibson - adidas adizero Ghost 2
Omri Casspi - adidas adizero Ghost 2
Rodney Stuckey - adidas Crazy Shadow
Jerryd Bayless - adidas adizero Ghost 2
Brandon Knight - adidas Crazy Shadow
Andre Drummond - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2
Nene - adidas adipower Howard
Antawn Jamison - adidas adizero Ghost 2
Chauncey Billups - adidas Crazy Shadow
Matt Barnes - adidas Rose 773
Nicolas Batum - adidas adizero Crazy Light 2