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17. Grant Hill
There’s a reason FILA can release retro basketball shoes in the 2010s and that’s Grant Hill. Sure, Stackhouse had his share of sneakers with the company, but it was the Duke Blue Devil turned Detroit Piston that made the brand a player on the hardwood.
Early in his career, Grant Hill was a hot as it gets. In his first two seasons, the promising point-forward led the league in All-Star Game votes, proving his popularity by beating out the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway and even Michael Jordan in fan support. His on-court credibility matched with his on-air likability made his FILA signature line an instant success, placing the Italian sportswear company in the same catalogs, conversations and rotations as established basketball brands. The FILA Grant Hill I carried Grant Hill through his co-Rookie of the Year campaign and first All-Star Game, with both the brand and the athlete avoiding the sophomore slump in the FILA Grant Hill II. The GH II would receive global endorsement via Grant’s play in the 1996 Olympic Games, also scoring crossover cool points when worn off-court by 2Pac.
While some may say that today’s sneaker game is all about standing out, it’s really not. Everybody signs with the same brands, the same color concepts are executed across the board and few athletes really take risks when establishing their own line. In the ’90s and early ’00s, Grant Hill did things differently by building with FILA. The partnership was fruitful for both parties, securing FILA a place in basketball history and making Grant Hill one of the most iconic signature stars to ever play the game.
-Ian Stonebrook
