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Adidas claims that sneaker website Sole Retriever stole images of upcoming shoe releases for NBA players Anthony Edwards and Donovan Mitchell and used them to try to extort the company for special treatment. The lawsuit, filed March 12 in Oregon federal court, names as defendants Sole Retriever, its founder Harris Monoson, and five unidentified individuals—who Adidas believes could include its own employees. It alleges that Sole Retriever conspired last summer with the unnamed individuals to steal “confidential proprietary designs,” including for upcoming Edwards and Mitchell sneaker releases. (Edwards and Mitchell both have signature shoe deals with Adidas.)
The lawsuit, which includes counts of unjust enrichment and copyright infringement, seeks more than $150,000 in damages, although it does not specify an exact amount. Adidas says that companies in the “highly” competitive sneaker industry invest “tens of millions of dollars” to research and develop technology, designs, marketing campaigns, and more. It says there is “no doubt” Sole Retriever coordinated with one or more people who had “access to Adidas’s files to unlawfully obtain confidential and proprietary trade secrets,” about the company’s pipeline of future sneaker releases.
Michael Scotto: Sneaker News: Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner and center Moe Wagner have each signed multi-year, multi-million dollar deals with Adidas, league sources told @hoopshype.
Bleacher Report: “NI HAO WHAT’S HANNIN?!” Ant was hype for his AE Tour in China 🤣 (via Maureen.delvillar/IG)
“NI HAO WHAT’S HANNIN?!”
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 23, 2025
Ant was hype for his AE Tour in China 🤣
(via Maureen.delvillar/IG) pic.twitter.com/bM3qNEoKg2
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Anthony Edwards is making sure kids in Houston have shoe game going into the 2025-26 school year ... by donating a bunch of his signature adidas sneakers!! The NBA superstar sponsored Bleau Print Hospitality's "Walking In The Right Path Shoe Giveaway" event ... which took place at the Atlas Ultra Lounge in H-Town. The CEO and founder, Molo, shared the donation on Instagram ... saying Edwards had over 150 pairs of his Adidas AE 1 sneakers delivered to their charity.
Legion Hoops: MASSIVE crowd for James Harden at the Shenzhen Adidas store in China. Global game. 🌎 (via @adidasHoops )
MASSIVE crowd for James Harden at the Shenzhen Adidas store in China.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 10, 2025
Global game. 🌎
(via @adidasHoops) pic.twitter.com/B8Qy7olsyK
James Harden saw some of the NBA's global impact firsthand recently. On Monday, during the LA Clippers guard's UNO Tour with Adidas, an outdoor basketball court in Guangzhou, China, featuring a larger-than-life mural of Harden was revealed. According to the Clippers, designer Yin chose the 2025 UNO Tour imagery for the court design, with the tour slogan "Under No One" displayed on one sideline. The slogan also is a nod to Harden's jersey number (1). The court was unveiled in the rain, and Harden looked puzzled as officials removed the tarp that covered it. He then pumped his fists in joy.
"Thank you guys. I know it's rain, you guys here supporting me, I love you so much," Harden told the hundreds in attendance for the reveal. Days earlier, thousands of people packed into a Guangzhou City mall to see Harden, who autographed his signature Adidas sneakers along with jerseys. "You guys never cease to amaze me, every time feels like the first time ... I just hope you know the love is reciprocated," Harden wrote in a social media post.
Marc J. Spears: So one time I show up, bro, I'm in this beautiful Adidas sweatsuit. I'm a hard guy to fit—this 3XLT fit right. I had the shoes to match, all black, had the black T-shirt underneath. He couldn't tell me nothing that day. And Bean said he would talk to me at the practice. So I meet him at the practice, and he's looking at me with disgust. Nico was with him. Kobe: "Why you disrespecting me like that?" "Why you wearing that?" And then it hit me. He said: "I ain't doing an interview." I'm like, "Dog, I flew out here to talk to you. What do you mean you ain’t doing an interview?" "I ain’t interviewing you wearing that." I'm like, "What, you want me to take it all off?" Kobe: "You know what? I'mma tell you what you gonna do. You're gonna go home. I'mma give you the interview, but when you go home, I'm going to need you to film yourself throwing that away and send me the video. If you're willing to do that, we can conduct the interview. I did the interview. At the time, I lived in an apartment that had a trash chute. A friend I was hanging out with filmed it. I dropped it in the trash chute, filmed it, and sent it to him. I think he respected that.
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The Kobe sneakers in question are the 1997 Adidas EQT Elevation, the first shoe from the brand worn by Bryant in the NBA, which was renamed the Crazy 97 for its reissues. The late Los Angeles Lakers icon memorably wore them in the 1997 slam dunk contest and continued to lace the pair up in the playoffs, which is where the pair that’s up for grabs originated from. According to Infinite Auctions, the shoe has been photo matched as the same pair worn by Bryant during Game 4 of the 1997 Western Conference first round, where the Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers.
Tracy McGrady: I never felt like I had (financials) under control. Ever. I was trying to control it the best way I possibly could because I was—I didn’t have the knowledge. Right. Right. I’m young. I didn’t have the knowledge. I’m just maneuvering through this [] just by trial—trial and error. Just trying to figure it out as I go. But having Kobe at the time, right, I could pick up the phone, call Kobe, right, cuz he’s somebody that I leaned on, you know, religiously at that time. Very intelligent person, right? He’s very grounded. He comes from two-parent home. Like his structure and my structure are totally two different structures. I needed to have that conversation and—and—and learn from him who had the structure and had the intelligence to help me maneuver through this [] that I know nothing about, right? So it was good that, you know, we had the same agency. We both was Adidas guys at the time. But I could just pick up the phone and call my man and be like, 'Yo, I’m—I’m struggling with this. What—what should I do?' And he was, you know, so gracious enough to give me the game. And uh that was through our whole career."
Who is your basketball GOAT? Lance Stephenson: Michael Jordan is number one. T-Mac is the reason I wore number one — had all his sneakers. My school was Adidas-sponsored, so I repped T-Mac. Also, Oscar Robertson. I feel like my game is like his — pass, shoot, attack — all-around player.