Auction introduction: Sotheby’s is proud to present Gamers Only – a selection of 13 fine examples of game worn sneakers from some of the NBA's greatest athletes. Some of the highest-quality basketball sneakers in history have come from top players’ signature lines. For the most part, it was Converse’s “Chuck Taylor” that dominated the sneaker game until adidas arrived on the basketball sneaker scene. In 1969, adidas re-developed the 1964-1965 ‘Supergrip’ which included the first iteration of the iconic ‘Shell Toe’. Now known as the ‘Superstar’, adidas hoped to dominate the market with the help of a player-exclusive deal with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was arguably the biggest name in the NBA at the time.