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Nike Basketball has dropped an ambitious 45-second ad just as the whole world watched the total solar eclipse that took place last Monday.
The video posted on X, simply captioned "the total eclipse has just begun," takes place somewhere in South Texas and shows patches of grass forming a monogram.
The total eclipse has just begun. 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑 pic.twitter.com/ihGr5mFzai
— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) April 8, 2024
As the camera pans out to reveal the whole picture, viewers are treated to a gigantic alien-shaped logo, with Nike's iconic checkmark etched on each corner, forming the shape of a basketball.
What Is the Ad for?
The spot, which received no prior introduction or explanation, is presumed by many basketball fans to be the sports brand's new logo for San Antonio Spurs player Victor "Wemby" Wembanyama.
Wemby, dubbed by many as the "alien," sealed a deal with the sports giant just days before the Spurs claimed him in the 2023 NBA Draft, becoming the No. 1 pick of the year.
Nike's cryptic ad signals a potential shoe or clothing collaboration with the seven-foot-four French phenom, who has yet to have his signature shoe with the company.
Notably, Wemby recently donned his customized version of the Nike G.T. Hustle 2, which exclusively hits the stores in the coming month.
Victor Wembanyama x Nike GT Hustle 2 "Alien"
— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) April 2, 2024
🗓️ May 3
💰 $170 pic.twitter.com/6XBEpqaWwp
The Spurs player, which many are anticipating to become NBA's Rookie of the Year, has received praise from "King" LeBron James, who even gave him his nickname in 2022.
"Everybody's been a unicorn over the last few years, but he's [Wembanyama] more like an alien," James said at the time.
"No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor. I mean at 7'4 or 7'5 or 7'3, or whatever the case might be. He can put the ball on the floor, shoot step back jumpers out of the post, step back threes, catch and shoot threes, block shots."
Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang
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