Converse is hoping to re-create its niche by aligning with outspoken basketball stars
Washington Mystics point guard Natasha Cloud was coming off a WNBA championship in 2019 when she received her first opportunity to work with Converse, the shoe her 74-year-old father wears to work every single day. She didn’t realize then that this photoshoot would eventually lead to her becoming the first woman to sign a shoe deal with Converse Basketball.
Cloud was a fantastic high school athlete who earned first-team all-county honors in the Philadelphia area as a junior and senior. Cloud, however, was not a highly-ranked recruit. She only narrowly made the cut for the HoopGurlz Recruiting Top 100 Rankings in 2010, earning one of the final five spots on ESPN’s list.
She played one season at Maryland but scored just 2.5 points per game before transferring to St. Joseph’s in Philly. She would go on to win Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. Serving as co-captain, she also helped lead her mid-major squad to the NCAA Tournament.
Cloud, chosen at No. 15 overall in the 2015 WNBA Draft, has since blazed a path on a long and winding road to eventually become one of the leading endorsers for Converse.
Courtesy of Converse
“I still get choked up talking about it. It’s my story. I’ve been an underdog my whole life and I’ve always been that kid that was good but never good enough,” she told For The Win. “But to have a company see your worth and your value and how much you can bring to them, that’s a surreal feeling.”
Cloud, now the all-time leader in assists for the Mystics, was one week away from being able to share word of her endorsement deal with her fans when she saw the horrific footage of George Floyd’s death while in police custody in May 2020. The brutality she watched was unfathomable and it shook her to her core.
The point guard, who won the WNBA’s Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award in 2019 for her efforts to help prevent gun violence, became one of the millions of Americans joining protests for social reform last year.
Cloud took to the streets in her hometown of Philadelphia, demanding justice and equality, and even she admits that the news of her sneaker deal suddenly felt less urgent.
Though nervous about how they might respond, she asked Converse if they could delay the announcement. She said that Converse was not only comfortable with the decision but the company decided to donate $25,000 to the ACLU of Pennsylvania on her behalf in solidarity with her activism.
“It’s everything. As an athlete, you follow your passions and what’s important to you. I was able to be true to myself and who I am and not have to worry about any repercussions because Converse has always supported me,” said Cloud. “So that’s been so instrumental to be in this fight for social reform moving forward.”
(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Cloud, alongside NBA All-Star guard Bradley Beal, helped lead marches in Washington, D.C. later in the summer of 2020. She continued to be an outspoken advocate for unity and change across her social media channels as well, laser-focused on this movement.
Meanwhile, with COVID-19 still making a devastating and deadly impact across the country as well, the WNBA season was set to begin at a bubble location in Florida on July 25, exactly two months after Floyd was killed.
Cloud’s Mystics would have an opportunity to defend their franchise’s first-ever WNBA title. However, she decided to forego the season to continue to fight on the front lines for social reform.
She was one of a dozen to make the bold decision. Unfortunately, the WNBA only offered to cover the salaries of players who were deemed high-risk of severe coronavirus complications.
This would have been a tough blow for Cloud, who has played international basketball in China as well as in Europe and Australia to make up for some of the disparity between WNBA and NBA players.
June 8 – @T_Cloud4 becomes the first women’s basketball player to sign a shoe deal with Converse.
June 22 – Cloud opts out of the 2020 WNBA season to focus on social justice matters.
June 26 – Cloud announces that Converse is covering her contract for the season. pic.twitter.com/MGf2ycJQK5
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 29, 2020
The same month Cloud unveiled that she signed with Converse, she learned that they would also pay her yearly salary and recover her lost wages.
“The issues that our community faces are bigger than basketball,” Ron Johnson, general manager of Converse Basketball, explained to For The Win. “Natasha made those sacrifices, coming off a championship run, and that speaks so much to her character and who she is as a person. She is absolutely a trailblazer. We couldn’t be more excited to continue to partner with her and build some amazing stuff in the future. We want to empower the initiatives that she is sponsoring.”
Cloud was told that she was chosen to represent the company due to her actions off the court just as much as her talent on the floor. She felt that they proved with these actions that the sentiment was more than just weightless words.
In return, the 29-year-old basketball star has made it her top priority to use her platform to advocate as a voice for the voiceless.
“When you see all these big brands that are sponsoring and endorsing athletes, it’s not necessarily black females,” she said. “You add on the other layer. I’m bisexual. You add on the other layer. I’m very outspoken, which could be seen as detrimental in a lot of instances to some companies that want to play it safe. But they have allowed me to break barriers and they have broken barriers themselves by just allowing me to be my authentic self.”
This is Natasha Cloud’s story. But her actions speak louder than words.
To continue the fight against racial injustice, as part of her partnership with @Converse, Natasha has generously donated to the ACLU-PA. We are grateful for her support. #BlackLivesMatter @T_Cloud4 pic.twitter.com/JTXpKX8Lz7
— ACLU of Pennsylvania (@aclupa) June 12, 2020
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Converse was one of the first brands to introduce a shoe specifically designed for basketball, launching the Non-Skid in 1917, which was renamed as the Converse All Star in 1919 and then to the Chuck Taylor in 1934.
But their presence in women’s basketball actually predates Cloud by nearly a century. Back in 1924, Converse sponsored the Edmonton Grads, who won the first women’s world title.
In a similar spirit, one of their recent releases in the Breaking Barriers series paid tribute to the 1954-1955 Crispus Attucks High School basketball team. The squad, led by future Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robinson, became the first all-Black team to ever win the Indiana State Basketball Championship.
The shoe, seen below, is a nod to the Chuck 70 and Pro Leather that features the school’s team colors and similar material used on their letterman jackets.
Courtesy of Converse
“We are completely integrated into the fabric of basketball,” Johnson, the Converse executive, added. “We have a very rich history. Not all of our consumers are aware of it.”
When people think of Converse’s legacy with basketball, plenty of folks picture Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points while wearing a pair of Chucks in the 1960s. During that era, per Grailed, Converse controlled “80 percent of the basketball footwear market with 90 percent of professional and collegiate basketball players wearing All-Stars.”
Chuck Taylors were still coveted because it was a staple in the uniform for bands like The Sex Pistols and The Ramones.
Converse, however, slowly started losing their powerful monopoly in basketball. Puma launched the Clyde for Walt Frazier in 1973. Adidas made a huge push and was becoming as popular as Converse during the 1970s as well.
One of Converse’s savvier responses was helping superstar Julius “Dr. J” Erving became a pioneer by having his name on the Converse Pro Leather in 1976.
Endorsers, for decades, became an essential part of Converse’s business plan and extended from Erving in the 1970s all the way to Cloud today. Decisions like this one were also a ginormous step towards the signature shoe landscape that the NBA follows today.
Courtesy of Converse
Converse recently tipped their hat to Dr. J as part of their Birth of Flight collection, which celebrates the 45th anniversary of the NBA’s merger with the ABA. The sneaker, which dropped earlier this year, comes with a removable hook-and-loop Star Chevron patch and a gold-foil Dr. J deboss.
Back then, this also signified a move away from the Chuck Taylor to other shoes like the Pro Leather. Even though no player has worn the canvas Chuck’s on an NBA court since 1980, the brand still found a way to stay relevant throughout the decade.
Not long after Dr. J changed the game, league MVPs Magic Johnson and Larry Bird made waves as well, wearing contrasting colorways of the Converse Weapon shoes during the peak of their rivalry in the mid-1980s.
Their 1986 commercial took a similar approach, featuring Johnson and Bird as well as fellow NBA stars Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale, Mark Aguirre and Bernard King rapping about the shoes for the iconic campaign.
Converse also maintained a long, visible placement in the Olympics. They sponsored the powerhouse Team USA’s basketball program from 1936 until 1992.
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During the summer of 1992, however, Magic ended his relationship with the company, citing behind-the-times advertising. He insisted that the brand was riding the high of the Chuck Taylor long after they should have.
After that huge blow, a series of mishaps and miscalculations to be more aggressive and less traditional actually started to sink the ship even deeper.
One of the more embarrassing looks was the Converse REACT Juice in the mid-1990s, which was a response to the Nike Air, Reebok Pump and ASICS Gel.
Before Nike React cushioning, there was Converse REACT Juice: https://t.co/jxAuNow7P0 pic.twitter.com/vIDlQMmBXm
— highsnobiety (@highsnobiety) December 5, 2018
These shoes were popular among NBA players like Larry Johnson (the face of the “Grandmama” campaign for the shoes) and Latrell Sprewell.
But the liquid in the heel and ankle had a design flaw and would occasionally leak, once nearly injuring Chris Webber during practice. Similarly, in Nov. 1995, the Converse RAW Energy sneakers caused multiple delays during a Cavaliers game as referees had to wipe down the court from a spill. RAW Energy and RAW Power shoes were soon recalled from shelves.
Converse was also the mastermind behind the jerseys for the Kentucky Wildcats college basketball team designed to look and (for some bizarre reason) even feel like denim.
Their head coach, Rick Pitino, pushed against his players wearing a material that would weigh them down so dramatically.
© RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Kentucky pivoted, switching to just the denim aesthetic, which the Wildcats infamously wore while en route to winning the 1996 national championship.
Not long after the basketball jorts were met with middling reviews, to put it kindly, Kentucky moved on from their Converse sponsorship and, like so many others in college basketball, switched to Nike.
As they tried to keep their place in the market, they struggled to maintain much of a hold in the endorser space. Most notably, they terminated their association with Sprewell, who was one of their leading spokesmen until he choked his coach during practice in 1997.
Converse still maintained a dominant presence in the lifestyle space, still seen on the feet of rock bands like Nirvana and The Strokes. But Converse’s hold over the world of basketball largely began to fade.
Between February 1997 and October 2000, Converse stock shares reportedly fell from $28 to $0.50. And then by 2001, with debts reportedly exceeding $226 million, Converse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
But after a series of buyouts and takeovers during its corporate history, yielding Converse ownership in the hands of groups that may not have prioritized it as well as it needed, Converse finally found a parent company that made sense.
Two years after declaring bankruptcy, the company was purchased in 2003 for $305 million and became a subsidiary of Nike. One of their first moves after the revival was signing Dwyane Wade, who endorsed Converse until he switched to Jordan Brand in 2009.
Otherwise, during the early 2000s, the brand worked with a select handful of NBA players including Elton Brand, Lou Williams, Kyle Korver and Udonis Haslem. This was a respectable group, certainly, but they didn’t exactly move the needle.
Then by 2012, they took a hiatus from making performance basketball sneakers altogether.
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Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Within the last few years, over a century after Converse’s debut in the basketball world, the company re-entered the basketball space, introducing the All Star Pro BB in 2019.
By the end of that year, the same company that Nike acquired for $305 million in 2003 had reached $1.9 billion in revenue.
They have since secured endorsements from Cloud in the WNBA, three-time NBA champion Draymond Green, his eccentric Golden State Warriors teammate Kelly Oubre Jr. and Oklahoma City Thunder rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Green, who was signed to Nike during his first several years in the league, said the marriage between the brands made this decision a no-brainer.
“It was a very, very easy transition for me,” Green told For The Win. “The Nike react technology is in my shoes that I wear. I’ve already worn the next shoe and it is similar technology to all the Nike sneakers. The shoe has performed well. It’s a very comfortable shoe. They’ve really been holding up well for me since last season.”
Courtesy of Converse
Converse has developed its own CX technology with stretch canvas for performance. But they also have access to all of the Nike innovations, borrowing from Nike Zoom and Nike Air.
They have also collected tons of invaluable experience, knowledge and wear testing data due to their relationship with the industry leader. So when the shoe is actually on the foot of players like Green and Cloud, it feels familiar to the Nike sneakers that they have worn for so many years.
Gilgeous-Alexander recently wore Converse kicks inspired by the Kobe-7 shoes while the original deal for Oubre allowed for him to wear Kobe’s Nike silhouettes.
“I tell people that they have the same feel as Kobe’s,” Cloud explained. “They’re lightweight. I can make hard cuts in them. Quick cuts. They protect my ankles.”
Additionally, there is some overlap in personnel between the companies as well. Both Green and Cloud credited longtime Nike executive Adrian Stelly’s switch to Converse as one of the reasons why they felt comfortable signing on.
Cloud also liked that Converse feels very “urban” and Green agreed, noting Converse has a “blue-collar” vibe. That’s one of the reasons why, in Sept. 2020, Green donated more than 500 pairs of sneakers to children in his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan.
Courtesy of Converse
“Signing with Converse, that was a big deal for me, because you never forget those times of not wanting to walk too hard because you want them to stay looking new as long as you possibly can,” said Green. “It was a good feeling to be able to help in that area to parents that were much like my mom when I was growing up.”
Charitable actions from Green made him an ideal partner for the brand. But they have also long been infatuated with the fact that he is someone who is unabashedly, unapologetically himself.
Green is outspoken, often providing bold quotes and fascinating insight into his perspective. Those are exactly the kind of traits that Converse has sought in their athletes.
“We want people with amazing creativity and individuality and who express that on and off the court, including everything that they do to further and uplift their community,” said Johnson. “We are the brand that celebrates individuality and self-expression and they are the people and the muses for such. It’s the perfect marriage.”
Courtesy of Converse
That sort of self-expression led them to someone like Gilgeous-Alexander, who Bleacher Report named as the “best-dressed player” in the NBA. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard is widely considered one of the more fashion-forward individuals in the league. He was even crowned “NBA Quarantine Fits Champ” by GQ.
Considering how seriously he takes his apparel, Gilgeous-Alexander’s interest in endorsing Converse speaks volumes about the positive direction that the brand is headed as a respected brand.
Oubre, meanwhile, launched his own apparel brand, Dope Soul, and even walked the runway while wearing Converse shoes during Paris Fashion Week in 2019.
Kelly Oubre Jr. walks in his first Paris Fashion Week show, as part of the Converse-Pigalle collab. Just happened. @KELLYOUBREJR pic.twitter.com/VTMUMYG9Pn
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) June 23, 2019
Green, who worked with Converse to get the height of where the shoe comes up to on his ankle to get his preferred size, admits that he does not possess as much creative drive as someone like Oubre.
But he has also enjoyed finding little ways to make his shoes reflect his story.
“The most fun that I’ve had with it was adding my children’s names to my shoe and then also doing a shoe that I will wear on the floor at the same time my kids will wear them in the crowd. Our colorways will match,” he said. “I put a bunch of different designs together. I designed a few to pay homage to Michigan State and Saginaw High School and one to the city of Oakland.”
Welcome to the family @money23green pic.twitter.com/9qE64H1i2T
— Converse (@Converse) March 6, 2020
Converse has a fairly small client list and they do not have grander ambitions of dethroning Nike and Adidas as the most coveted basketball shoe on the market. Instead, they re-enter the space as a more niche product.
For signs of what is to come next, Johnson wouldn’t spoil any company secrets. But he did seem to emphasize the customizable nature of the product, especially when it comes to what the endorsers will be able to do with the sneaker itself.
With that in mind, we can look at Oubre’s “Soul Collection” for a clue how the player edition sneakers will look for Cloud and Green as it relates to their own creativity and individuality.
Customization has been a huge part of Converse’s brand off the court in recent years, launching collaborations with the likes of designers like Virgil Abloh’s Off-White, Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons PLAY, Tyler The Creator’s Golf le Fleur, Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear of God and countless other lines like Brain Dead, Wacko Maria and Stussy.
It’s only natural that the same customization will extend to the players on the hardwood.
“We’re going to do it with a new and different basketball model,” said Johnson. “The traditional signature shoe isn’t necessarily part of our strategy right now. The ways that we connect with our consumers are going to be different. I’m smiling while I’m telling you this because I want to give it all away.”
Off the floor, meanwhile, Cloud is determined to continue her work with Converse to give back to people in need. It is a fundamental element of what made Converse want to work with her in the first place.
She knows the power of representation and that her position with the company can potentially help other young black women realize that they can eventually walk in the same shoes as her.
“I’m excited to continue our work not only on the court but more importantly, off the court in our community, continuing to fight this fight for social reform and have them have my back and continue to break barriers and to break systems that were set up to oppress in this country.”