Imagine you’re 6’11″, 265 LBS., and have a mean midrange game and a 40+” vertical. (I said imagine, right?) Alright, so you might not measure up to Dwight Howard, but with the adidas TS BOUNCE Commander your dogs will be pampered much like DH’s feet. The shoe is the latest hit from the Three Stripes camp and will be worn by many of the brand’s brawny “Command” players throughout the rest of season.

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Travel along with adidas and Dwight Howard as they film a spot at an NBA Testing Ground Center at a secret, undisclosed location for the new adidas TS BOUNCE Commander. The commercial calculates Dwight’s yearly jumping stats, converting his functional energy into various statistics–pretty cool, methinks. Bounce.

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For the third year in a row, Philly-based lifestyle clothing troupe UNDRCRWN linked up with adidas REMIX to creatively reinvigorate the Three Stripes most coveted high-performance hoop product. In past years, the collaboration has yielded a five-shoe African- inspired “It Takes 5ive” campaign and shamelessly bold, iridescent version (Appropriately titled the “Just Ice Lightswitch Low”–Thanks K!) of the TS Lightswitch Low. For 2008-09, the partnership is coupling ‘Crwn’s “Brand for Champions” motif with Adi’s Team Signature Create & Command Series to create three shoes befitting the winners of the world. Specifically, the companies reworked the TS Commander Mid, TS Creator Mid, and TS Creator Low. I recently got the chance to sit down with folks from both camps and receive a behind-the-scenes look at the production and inspiration behind each model. Read on…

Going into the interview, I was interested in learning more about how each shoe was produced. With the atypical materials, concepts and marketing involved, I figured ongoing circumspection was necessary to properly execute such a unique project. Brian from the adidas Portland offices explains, “The original concepts for the shoes start 18 months out.” From there, changes in materials are meted out by the brand’s marketing department and Undrcrwn. UNDRCRWN founder and head designer Dustin Canalin explains, “It’s hard to market sometimes because the shoes are always being changed. But that’s the great thing about our projects with adidas—they keep us involved in every step of the process.”

With a skilled production squad backing the project, the brands centralized their efforts on developing product that was reflective of a “winning” attitude on and off the courts. UNDRCRWN Public Relations Manager Tracy Royal explains via stock e-mail, “UNDRCRWN is the Brand for Champions. When you win and nobody believes you could do it; that is what UNDRCRWN stands for.” Each shoe in the series employs a different approach in evoking a feeling of victory.

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“What does it mean to come home?” ponders Denver Nuggets floor leader and Colorado native Chauncey Billups. The guard recently peregrinated back to his birthplace after a long stint in Detroit, reinvigorating the city that watched him transform from a three-time “Mr. Basketball” recipient at George Washington High School into a do-everything scorer for the Colorado Buffaloes.

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Billups in his Pistons-toned adidas TS Creator Mid. 

In a trade that seemingly came out of left field, veteran guard Allen Iverson of the Denver Nuggets was shipped to the Detroit Pistons for clutch shooting guard Chauncey Billups, reliable forward Antonio McDyess, and rookie Cheikh Samb. I wondered whether adidas and Reebok would be ready to suit up their two signature studs in footwear to match their new uniforms–each company had only days to manufacture new product for their players. Saturday night provided us with an answer, (Pun not intended!) with Billups rocking out in a Pistons-themed blue/red/white iteration of his adidas TS Creator Mid and Iverson switching between the ‘07 and Answer XII (7). Both athletes have been rewarded significantly by their sponsor companies, each recieving their own product for the 2008 season. (CB recieves only his own colorway, mind you. Basketball is a Brotherhood!) But the question remains–who will buy these, these, or these? Images via Yahoo Sports.

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