{"id":515707,"date":"2016-11-04T12:44:28","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T16:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=515707"},"modified":"2016-11-04T12:46:19","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T16:46:19","slug":"ben-simmons-one-done-documentary-details-shoe-deal-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ben-simmons-one-done-documentary-details-shoe-deal-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Simmons’ “One & Done” Documentary Details Shoe Deal Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

words \/\/ Nick DePaula<\/a><\/strong>
\n portraits \/\/\u00a0Amanda Westcott \/ Showtime<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the age of 15, Ben Simmons has been known in basketball circles as the next great rising phenom. At 6’10”, he’s not your typical big man, with a versatile driving game built on strength and power, and guardlike court vision only accelerated more by his towering view of the floor in transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a generational passer,\u201d responded one NBA marketing source via text. \u201cBird, LeBron, Magic level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ben-simmons_crop\"With that hype building as his prep\u00a0career evolved, Simmons was tapped for a new documentary to chronicle his journey along the way. Co-directed by Maura Mandt and Josh Swade, the Showtime film follows along as Ben reaches the heights of high school hoops and heads off to a lone year of college basketball at LSU. Dubbed “One & Done,” much of the movie takes sharp note at the flawed rules surrounding freshman hoops stars like Simmons headed directly to the League.<\/p>\n

An hour in, just as he officially turns pro, the documentary shifts from Simmons’\u00a0agent selection process to his upcoming sneaker deal. With his parents Dave and Julie, half-siblings Sean and Emily and agent Rich Paul in tow, the group weighs the pros and cons of each brand as they take endorsement pitches from both Nike and adidas.<\/p>\n

For adidas, the presentation played up their “Creator” positioning, their newly revamped Basketball designs and how Ben would fit in as a featured athlete.<\/p>\n

“I thought the whole presentation was amazing. I didn’t know what to expect,” Dave says of the initial adidas pitch. “Adidas as a brand, we saw a lot of transformation and there’s a lot changing.”<\/p>\n

“None of their stuff last year was like that,” notes Ben. “It’s like a whole new brand.”<\/p>\n

Conversely, Nike’s pitch centered around their strong stable of athletes, global marketing prowess and lengthy innovations and leading designs through the years.<\/p>\n

“Our pitch to Ben was fairly simple,” reveals Lynn Merritt, Nike Basketball’s sports marketing exec. “That there should be no other place for him to be, other than with Nike.”<\/p>\n

You can follow along the entire shoe deal process, with candid commentary, inside access and insights directly from Simmons, as the documentary “ONE & DONE” premieres tonight, November 4th at 9 PM EST on Showtime.<\/p>\n