Rockets G James Harden is one of the NBA's "most fashion forward players," so it "only makes sense that his signature shoe would represent everything" he is as a creator on and off the court, according to Demetrio Teniente of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Harden has "rolled out two signature shoes with Adidas so far and after winning MVP, Adidas announced two new Harden silhouettes" to go along with the Harden Vol. 2 in an MVP collection. In addition to the MVP colorway, the Harden LS 2 "got three other colorways in a separate release a few days later." That makes "technically six new James Harden shoes in one week." Adidas "has had great campaigns for Harden's shoes before, but now they're taking it to the next level." The commercial Adidas "released after Harden won MVP" featured his mother, Monja Willis, "telling a story about a note he left for her when he was a kid." The partnership between Harden and Adidas is a "marketing dream." The "most important part of this ad campaign" is Harden's story. It is "pretty clear Harden and Adidas have put an emphasis on storytelling" with the colorways for the Vol. 2 shoes that "have dropped already." Brands have been "using story telling to sell shoes forever," and usually those stories are "ones that happened on the biggest stages." However, the stories Harden "wants to tell, are the ones that got him here." To celebrate Harden's MVP, Adidas "rolled out a special edition MVP Collection which featured the Harden Vol. 2, Harden LS 2 and Harden B/E (Brothers Through Everything) X models" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/2).
