Carmelo Anthony talks about being the first to be signed up by Michael Jordan's shoe brand

While Michael Jordan was on the court, he was the only one representing his brand Air Jordan. However, after his third and final retirement in 2003, Portland Trail Blazers Carmelo Anthony was signed as the very first Jordan Brand athlete. While on UNINTERRUPTED's WRTS: After Party series, he revealed more about the Carmelo Anthony shoe deal. 

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While on the show, Carmelo Anthony revealed that when he was signed as the signature athlete of the brand, it was not the original plan. He stated that LeBron James was with Nike, and Jordan came and asked to pay half, while Nike covers the rest. Jordan said he would 'take' Anthony as Nike has James and Converse had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Anthony recalled playing his first preseason game in the Jordans, which came off while he was playing. He stated that he decided not to play in another retro shoe again, which why they started working on the signature shoe.

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Air Jordan went on to released 13 signature shoes for Carmelo Anthony, before discontinuing them in 2017. He still works for the brand as a spokesperson and wears releases by the brand on the court. As of now, NBA players like Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic, LaMarcus Aldridge, Jimmy Butler, Mike Conley Jr., Blake Griffin, Maya Moore, Chris Paul, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Russell Westbrook have signed up with the brand.

Doncic and Williamson have been reported to be called the 'future faces' of the brand, which was Anthony back in 2003. Before the start of his rookie 2019-20 season, Zion Williamson had signed a 5-year, $75 million deal with Air Jordan. Doncic signed with the brand last December.

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