Surely you've seen the commercials by now.

The new adidas Basketball spots proclaiming that "Basketball is a Brotherhood.” This is the next step from last year's "It Takes 5ive” campaign—made necessary for two reasons. One, ads change. And two, with Dwight Howard stepping up to join the original 5ive (Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady), it wouldn't have made much sense to switch the campaign to "It Takes 6ix.” After all, who was gonna come off the bench?

I'll let adidas describe the brotherhood concept:

"Basketball is a Brotherhood” is the celebration of a group of players brought together to form a single, unstoppable unit. The sole objective is to win through honoring the core values of the game: we lead by example; we trust each other; we make the extra pass, we fight for our fellow brother every night; we don't check box scores. And the only name on the jersey we care about is the one across the front. In the "Brotherhood,” dynasties don't happen alone. In the "Brotherhood,” it's "We not Me.” The "Brotherhood” only happens when forces combine and egos die. Laugh and cry together. Win and lose together. Fight together. Always together! Only through team and through a "Brotherhood” can you achieve the impossible.

Makes sense to me. Well, in theory at least. I don't think there's a person alive—fan OR player—who only cares about the name on the front of the jersey. But it certainly sounds good. And seeing that four of the 6ix (sorry) have never tasted the ultimate postseason success, they'd be well served to worry more about their teams. (I wonder if this would have flown if Ko...nevermind.)

But anyway, this is about shoes as well. And, in a nearly unprecedented move, all of adidas's top endorsers (well, except for Gilbert) will be starting the year in the same shoe, the TS Lightspeed. No more signature shoes, just signature styles and colorways. Makes sense to me. As the year progresses, they'll go through three different models—one being the TS Lightswitch, which Gilbert will wear from the start. Here's how that'll go:

1. TS Lightspeed - Launched Oct 23, 2007 - The key silhouette designed to meet athletes needs and expectations on-court; Less than 14 ounces; TMAC is featured in the product campaign but the majority of adidas NBA players were wearing this shoe on court when the season launched. Retails for $100.

2. TS Lightswitch – Launches November 2007 - A mid-season modular silhouette that offers a customization angle; Removable insole liner gives choice of cushion or control; Gilbert Arenas is the lead athlete for this shoe. It provides more stability due to a radius heel cup and more lateral out-rigging. (Gilbert is wearing a lowtop version, there will be a mid as well.)

3. TS ProModel – Launches February 2008 - Based on a signature silhouette approaching its 35th Anniversary, this shoe is the evolution of the original. It will also be the key shoe during the 2008 All-Star game in New Orleans

As usual, you can check out a LOT more (videos, etc) at www.adidasbasketball.com

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