On his recent podcast, 7 PM in Brooklyn, Carmelo Anthony revealed that although he attended the Adidas ABCD (Academic Betterment and Career Development) Camp as a high school phenom, he wore sneakers from the sponsor’s competitor, Nike.
At the time, the summer camp featured the top high school players in the country, including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Stephon Marbury. Anthony, AKA Melo, grew up in
Baltimore and attended Towson Catholic High School in Maryland. He transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, whose basketball team was sponsored by Jordan Brand, so he already had an allegiance to the brand. He spoke about being the only player to have worn Jordans at the camp sponsored by Adidas.“In the history of Adidas camps, in Adidas history ever, anything Adidas and there was no disrespect to Adidas, I was the only person that ever wore Jordans to the Adidas camp,” Melo commented. “This is a fact. I think it was the 16s, like the Cranberry 16s or 17, 16 one of them, but that was the only way I would go to the camp.”
He felt a sense of loyalty because he was already attending a Jordan Brand-sponsored school, although he mentioned playing in games sponsored by both brands.
“So when I get down there, I said, ‘Damn, this is a Jordan school.’ But again, I played for the Adidas circuit, so I played in the Adidas big-time camp, but I also played for the Nike circuit. It was like whoever was whatever we doing, I’m just out here at that point in time and I don’t really care about the sneakers at that point in time. I cared about getting them, but I don’t know none of that.”
After attending Syracuse University for only one year, where he won an NCAA Championship before being drafted by the Denver Nuggets, Melo was signed to Jordan Brand as the first signature athlete with the burgeoning company. Jordan selected him to be the first one, and Melo was given a six-year contract.