Celebrity Name: Jalen Williams & Kahleah Copper
Brand Name: Adidas
Deal Type: Brand Ambassador / Sportswear Campaign
Announced: March 3, 2026
Impact: Elevates both athletes as lifestyle and recovery footwear faces while helping adidas bring its 3D‑printed CLIMACOOL tech into mainstream sportswear
- NBA star Jalen Williams and WNBA Olympic gold medalist Kahleah Copper are the faces of the Adidas Spring/Summer 2026 CLIMACOOL Laced campaign.
- The CLIMACOOL Laced is a 3D-printed sneaker built using Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) technology, printed as a seamless lattice structure in approximately 24 hours.
- Williams’ campaign role marks a significant step up within Adidas, expanding him from an on-court basketball partner (since 2022) into the Sportswear lifestyle lane, positioning him as a full brand face beyond just basketball.
- The campaign targets off-court, recovery, and everyday lifestyle wear, not performance; signaling Adidas’ strategy to push CLIMACOOL into fashion-forward, comfort-tech territory alongside elite sport credibility.
Adidas just tapped two of basketball’s biggest names to front its latest sneaker drop. NBA champion Jalen Williams and WNBA Olympic gold medalist Kahleah Copper are starring in the brand’s Spring/Summer 2026 CLIMACOOL Laced campaign, which officially launched globally on March 3, 2026.
The campaign arrives in tandem with the shoe’s global release and builds on the success of Adidas’ original 3D-printed CLIMACOOL silhouette. The updated “Laced” version introduces a traditional lacing system for a more adjustable fit while keeping its signature open lattice design intact.
Already an NBA champion and All-Star, Williams is known for his sharp style off the court, making him a natural fit to bridge elite performance and everyday streetwear.
His adidas relationship has been building since late 2022, when he joined the brand’s NBA rookie signing class, most visibly wearing the James Harden signature line on the court. Now, the CLIMACOOL campaign officially moves him into the Adidas Sportswear lane as a lifestyle face, not just a hooper.
His co-star in the campaign is no afterthought. Kahleah Copper is a WNBA player and Olympic gold medalist, and she’s been repping Adidas Basketball for years.
Copper describes the shoe as “the perfect foundation for any outfit,” emphasizing that comfort and breathability are her top priorities after game days.
This move mirrors what sport brands are leveraging, just like Devin Booker’s Nike collaboration, where elite on-court athletes are increasingly being positioned as full lifestyle ambassadors beyond the hardwood.
And it echoes the playbook seen with Chet Holmgren and Candace Parker’s Degree campaign, pairing NBA and WNBA athletes together in cross-league campaigns to maximize cultural reach.
Takeaways
This campaign isn’t just a shoe launch, it’s a signal about where Adidas is heading strategically. By pairing an NBA champion (Williams) with a WNBA Olympic gold medalist (Copper) in a lifestyle campaign rather than a performance one, Adidas is making a clear statement: recovery and off-court comfort are the new battleground for sneaker culture.
The CLIMACOOL Laced, with its futuristic 3D-printed lattice and zero-seam construction, is being positioned less as a gym shoe and more as the athlete’s everyday shoe, something you wear after the work is done.
For Williams specifically, this is a pivotal moment. He’s been quietly building credibility within the Adidas family since 2022, and the CLIMACOOL campaign formally elevates him from a team-signed player into a brand storyteller. That’s the kind of progression that eventually leads to signature shoes and long-term franchise partnerships.
Does pairing NBA and WNBA athletes in the same campaign give brands more cultural reach or does it dilute the individual athlete’s story? Could Jalen Williams be on track for his own Adidas signature shoe sooner than people expect?
