Adidas Trolls Nike Over NBA Christmas Day Uniforms

It is hard to believe, but ten years ago was Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant's final NBA game on Christmas Day. Bryant, the Lakers, and every other team competing that day wore special Christmas Day uniforms designed by adidas.

After a rocky rollout, NBA fans quickly grew to love the one-off holiday uniforms. Unfortunately, adidas lost the NBA uniform rights to Nike after the 2016-17 season. Nike discarded the Christmas Day jerseys and implemented the ridiculous annual City Edition jerseys.

Christmas Day fits used to be elite… pic.twitter.com/r4S0FoXCpv
— adidas Basketball (@adidasHoops) December 25, 2025

In what has become a holiday tradition, adidas called out Nike for its boring NBA uniforms on Christmas Day. The brand shared a picture from its 2015 Christmas Day promo featuring the Chicago Bulls alternate jersey, Stance socks, and Derrick Rose shoes.

Adidas captioned the picture, "Christmas Day fits used to be elite…" The brand has received support from NBA fans who are mad at Nike for its lack of effort. In fact, one of the biggest proponents has been Lakers forward and signature Nike athlete LeBron James.

We reimagined the classic Christmas jerseys for this year’s slate 🎄🔥 pic.twitter.com/Aua4sIGEU2
— ESPN (@espn) December 24, 2025

Last Christmas, James posted on X, "Not having Xmas day unis anymore really sucks! That was a great feeling walking into the locker room and seeing those. It was literally like receiving a [gift emoji]! Whomp whomp!"

James tweeted the year before, "I do wish we had Xmas Day uniforms across the league still. Wonder why it stopped."

All I want for Christmas is the NBA bringing back Christmas Day uniforms! 🎅 pic.twitter.com/mlBeIWgwba
— Point Game (@pointgamepod) December 24, 2025

Nike has the exclusive uniform rights for all three of the major sports in the United States (MLB, NBA, and NFL). In October 2024, the NBA announced a contract extension with Nike, giving the American brand the uniform and on-court apparel rights for the NBA, WNBA, and G League through a recently extended 12-year partnership, set to run through at least 2037.

While many fans still debated the infamous adidas sleeved-jerseys, no one can deny the popularity of the brand's Christmas jerseys. Hopefully, the special uniforms make a comeback. There is just little faith among the basketball fans that Nike would go a good job with the concept.

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