Adidas Doubles Down on Women’s Basketball

This WNBA All-Star weekend, Adidas is proving its dedication to women’s basketball. The German athletic giant is launching a collaboration with luxury streetwear brand Ryoko Rain inspired by founder Garrett Thomas’ daughters and dropping the WNBA Crazy Energy Pack featuring player exclusives — in addition to hosting a dinner celebrating its roster of WNBA All-Stars.

The dinner was hosted by president of Adidas women’s basketball Candace Parker, who is using her position to help further Adidas’ mission to advance the women’s game by ensuring women’s perspectives and lived experiences are represented. Among her initiatives helping to increase visibility and create more opportunities for women athletes, coaches and future leaders is the annual Adidas Women’s Summit.

Parker said in a statement, “There’s so much energy around women’s basketball right now, and I want to help push it even further. That means spending more time with our athletes, shaping what we create, and making sure Adidas shows up authentically for the next generation of athletes.”

The collaboration with Ryoko Rain is about the unseen journey of the athlete, exploring the experiences and sacrifices that precede accolades. The collection is intended as a love letter to Garrett James’ daughters, with a butterfly motif representing transformation, growth, change and tradition. Adidas athletes Oliviyah Edwards, Kahleah Copper and Parker were tapped to star in the campaign. The collection is offered online and in select Dick’s Sporting Goods stores.

On Friday, ahead of the WNBA All-Star Game, Adidas launched the WNBA Crazy Energy Pack of player exclusives including colorways personalized for Satou Sabally and Sophie Cunningham in addition to a WNBA All-Star Edition colorway. 

Sabally’s colorway is inspired by mango season in Gambia, where her father is from, with personal accents including “Maktub,” meaning “everything is written,” and “My Roots Form the Crown,” which pays homage to her mother’s maiden name, Krone, translating to crown. Meanwhile, Cunningham’s colorway mirrors her personality and Midwestern roots, featuring a pink gradient with accents of baby blue and orange, a cowboy-inspired graphic on the sock liner and “Giddy Up” printed inside the tongue.

Adidas also hosted a celebratory dinner for its roster of All-Star athletes at the Bridgeport Skyline Loft, with the list including Aliyah Boston, Kahleah Copper, Olivia Miles and Kelsey Plum. The evening was inspired by the Ryoko Rain collaboration and featured a talk from Parker, who spoke of advancing the game and the future of Adidas women’s basketball and welcomed new WNBA athletes to the Adidas family. These player exclusives are part of a long-term brand strategy in partnership with Adidas’ wholesale partners to increase commercial business in the women’s realm.

“We continue our journey to be the next generation brand of basketball,” said Max Staiger, global general manager of Adidas basketball, in a statement. “This weekend you’ll not only see us celebrating women’s basketball, but also amplifying our fantastic athletes, partners, and the WNBA. Through exclusive player PEs, our ongoing collaboration with Ryoko Rain, and special product drops, we are giving all fans of the game another way to connect with our mission to be that next generation brand. All our weekend programs, including Sophie and Satou’s exclusive drops, are important individual pieces of a continued overall investment in all our veteran, next-generation players, and adidas women’s basketball.”