Tracy McGrady Says Kobe Leaving Adidas Helped Him Get a Bigger Deal

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Complex

Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this week of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal are joined by NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady and he talks about his history with Adidas, how Kobe Bryant leaving the brand helped him negotiate a bigger deal, LeBron James wearing his sneakers in high school, where Adidas basketball went wrong, wearing Yeezys, and his infamous viral baggy suit, and more.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's episode is brought to you by Foot Locker for holiday gift shopping with all of the must-have sneakers from your favorite brands.
0:10.0	What's up everybody? It's Joe Lupin. You were listening. You were watching the Complex Sneakers podcast.
0:15.0	As always, I'm joined by my two co-hosts, my two friends, to my right. Mr. Matt Welty. I felt like you were getting your bearings on that and trying to get the direction.
0:24.9	No, I knew the direction.
0:26.0	Like, to the...
0:26.9	Nope, I knew that. I just did a delay because that is good on-camera performance that you will
0:31.5	learn about one day. To my left.
0:33.7	I felt like you settled in back from Miami pretty good.
0:55.2	Mr. Upscale Vandal, how we doing? Back from Miami. A little, look, a little paint job, a couple shades tanner. Oh, I thought you were talking about the beard. The beard is, no, is that? Definitely, definitely filled in. Well, you said paint job, so I thought you're talking. No, Paint job is tanning. Oh, you thought I did a rewind? Yeah.
0:56.2	No, no foreshadowing. I did not do it. Caller give you a box to go? I did not do a rewind. I did not do a rewind, but no, I did get a little tanner. But we are back in studio, fresh off that Rich Paul, my guy was just dropping gems. I'm actually mad that I missed that in studio.
1:10.8	He went crazy.
1:11.7	You know?
1:12.6	Did he hook you up with the friends and family new balances?
1:14.8	Um, My guy was just dropping gems. I'm actually mad that I missed that in studio. He went crazy. You know? Did he hook you up with the friends and family new balances? I haven't checked yet. I haven't checked yet. Did he hook you up? No. I mean, we got we got hooked up. No, but not I was saying the friends and family pair. He said Joe, you got to come here. That's a special one. Maybe. Yeah. A lot to get to today. What do we have on the docket?
1:29.0	Got Lambs Air Force Ones.
1:30.6	Okay.
1:31.2	Jellyfish causing riots.
1:32.9	Big releases in New York City.
1:34.4	Balvin has a new Jordan four.
1:36.4	There's a special Timberland I may break out, friends and family.
1:40.1	And then the biggest thing, huge guest today, someone we've been chasing down for a while who has a sneaker discography that is up there in the Pantheon.
1:49.5	Legend.
	...

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