Puma placed its products on the feet of Hall of Famers puma au and world champions, even once persuading a scoring titleholder to come on board. Pumas have graced the hardwood of high school showcases, college games and NBA Slam Dunk Contests. Deals were inked with everyone from the NBA's tallest player ever to a high-flying phenom from the University of North Carolina who the company hoped would change its basketball fate.

The brand followed his vision like a blueprint and delivered a product that featured an unprecedented element: Frazier's nickname "Clyde" etched in cursive under the brand's logo on the puma creepers outside of each shoe  hence the term "signature sneaker."Left: Earvin "Magic" Johnson (left) drives past Wes Matthews (right) during a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls on Feb. puma suede classic 20, 1985. Matthews endorsed Puma from 1984 to 1986.Right.

The Clyde ultimately emerged as one of the most influential sneakers of all time  a shoe that, after being embraced by hip-hop culture, transcended the sport of basketball. It was the epitome of style and embodiment of cool. Everyone, from ballplayers to break dancers, wanted to wear Puma  and Frazier was a huge puma sneakers reason why.I'd been a Frazier fan since I was a little kid," said retired two-time NBA champion Wes Matthews, 59, who endorsed Puma from 1984 to 1986.

Spoiler: Supershort deals with players would continuously haunt Puma's journey through basketball for decades. But it's a trend that briefly changed in the mid-1980s, when the brand began courting star players such as Nuggets small forward Alex English. During the 1982-83 NBA season, no one could put the ball in the basket quite like the slender 6-foot-7 English, who made all 82 regular-season starts while posting an average of puma ignite 28.4 points a game to win the league's scoring title.

With a strong product and perfect placement, Puma began to experience a basketball renaissance. "I'm playing alongside Jordan, who's getting fined every game for wearing his shoes & ," Matthews said. "He's getting a lot of publicity & so I figured Puma would get a lot of publicity and the brand would take off."Matthews was right  English, Sampson and Milwaukee Bucks power forward Terry Cummings appeared in the 1985 All-Star Game, all wearing Pumas. Sampson was named the MVP with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds.