The Thunder eliminated the Timberwolves from the 2025 NBA Playoffs in a Game 5 rout on Wednesday. Oklahoma City and star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander now advance to the NBA Finals and will take on the winner of the Knicks and Pacers series.
When athletes win big events, their endorsement companies have gotten into the habit of celebrating victories. That was the case for Gilgeous-Alexander, who signed an exclusive shoe deal with Converse in 2020.
Rather than release an ad simply hyping up SGA’s trip to the Finals or being named the Western Conference Finals MVP, Converse took an alternate route, instead trolling Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards, who has a signature shoe with adidas.
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Here’s how Converse trolled Edwards after the Thunder’s Game 5 win.
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Converse trolls Anthony Edwards in ad celebrating Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Converse has become somewhat of an afterthought when it comes to basketball shoes, but having the reigning MVP and WCF MVP as a client doesn’t hurt. The shoe company released an ad after Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals that had an ant crawling aimlessly on the ground in an imprint of a sneaker, followed by text that simply said, “nothing left 2 say? Unbelievable.” The ad was posted on Converse’s official X/Twitter page.
Not hard 2 believe. @shaiglalex is headed to the Finals. pic.twitter.com/v8mVYxeaPM
— Converse (@Converse) May 29, 2025
Converse hasn’t been shy about supporting its client. The shoe company shined Gilgeous-Alexander’s logo on a building in Boston after the Thunder beat the Celtics earlier this season.
The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander logo was posted Batman style on some landmark spots in Boston tonight, including the Celtics’ home arena after the big Thunder win. pic.twitter.com/5uc7foESBV
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) March 13, 2025
Converse also plastered Gilgeous-Alexander’s logo across Oklahoma City when it was announced that he won MVP.
Converse projected SGA’s logo across Oklahoma City in honor of him winning MVP: pic.twitter.com/OieW405Jro
— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) May 22, 2025
While Edwards never took any shots directly at SGA or Converse, the Wolves star isn’t shy about hyping his shoes up as the “best in the game.” He’s also not shy about proclaiming his place among the league’s current stars and trash-talking while on (and off) the court.
It’s possible that the ad’s inclusion of “nothing left 2 say?” is a nod to one of Edwards’ adidas commercials from last fall. It was posed as a lie detector test, with Edwards implying that the Celtics had an easy path to the 2024 NBA Finals in the East and that he was the best young player in the league.
For now, it’s undeniable that SGA and Converse have the upper hand on Ant and adidas, and they made sure to let the world know after OKC’s five-game thumping of the Wolves.
