Tang Tian had been feeling pretty good lately.
He had just signed an endorsement deal worth 55 million in total, then recorded a triple-double in three quarters against the Raptors in the final game of October.
The Pelicans continued to demolish their opponents as well, finishing all their October games with a seven-game winning streak.
Of course, that was not even the best part.
The best part was that, with his Coca-Cola endorsement deal about to expire, they intended to collaborate with Nike on a pair of co-branded sneakers.
As Fagan had explained to Tang Tian before, sneaker endorsements came in several main categories: commercial endorsements, cash endorsements, and signature shoe endorsements.
But beyond those common sneaker endorsements, there was another particularly special kind of deal: a co-branded sneaker endorsement.
As the name implied, co-branding meant that two brands appeared together on a single pair of shoes.
Some notable examples from the past included Chanel x Adidas Pharrell Williams Hu NMD, Skepta x Air Max 97, KAWS x Air Jordan 4, and so on.
Since many of these collaborations were one-off releases, they were not included among regular endorsement categories.
But precisely because they were one-offs, their collectible value far exceeded that of ordinary sneakers.
So they were generally produced in limited quantities, first come, first served.
Tang Tian's first Godfather Series co-branded sneaker.
That gimmick alone was enough to drive fans crazy.
And this would also be Coca-Cola's first sports sneaker co-branding endorsement.
They had previously only collaborated with other brands on canvas shoes.
A first time always made people excited and expectant.
Of course, for Tang Tian, the release of such co-branded sneakers meant he would earn another huge batch of top-up points from sneaker dividends in February.
The Pelicans had suddenly become a powerhouse, and his top-up