By TIM REYNOLDS
The Associated Press
MIAMI - For decades, Converse sneakers were basketball's dominant brand.
Wilt Chamberlain had his 100-point game in the canvas model that remains popular today. Julius Erving insisted they helped his high-flying exploits. Michael Jordan _ who later became synonymous with Nike _ won his NCAA title donning the brand, and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird laced them up during their rivalry.
Converse once controlled 80 percent of the athletic shoe market but now lures only a tiny sliver of the multibillion sneaker industry, falling far behind the likes of Nike, Adidas and Reebok.
Now, the once-bankrupt company bought two years ago by Nike is betting Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, one of the NBA's rising stars, can reverse its fortunes.
Wade's signature sneaker _ the first since he signed a new seven-year deal with Converse, making him the company's biggest draw since Johnson and Bird in the late 1980s _ comes out Thursday, carrying a $90 price tag and perhaps hopes that a once-dominant company can re-emerge as a viable player in the shoe game.
"Converse has history," Wade said. "I want to be part of what comes next."
Erving, who began endorsing Converse in 1975 and sits on its board of directors, said the company isn't necessarily trying to compete at the same level as the big three shoe companies.
"I think Converse will remain in play in basketball and globally in sports, period, but the company has no ambition to be another Nike. I think Converse can be what they are."
Wade launched his shoe at a party in New York last week, squeezing the quick trip north in between practices with the Heat. He averaged 24.1 points, 6.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds for Miami last season, helping the team post the best record in the Eastern Conference.
The release of the shoe coincides with Miami's home opener; the Heat start the season Wednesday in Memphis, then fly home to play Indiana on Thursday.
He spent most of the summer working with designers on the shoe, and acknowledges that he finds the notion of people spending money to buy a shoe adorned with his name somewhat surreal.
"It's a very big step for me," Wade said.
On the eve of his third pro season, Wade's already inked many significant endorsement deals.
He models clothing for Sean John, gets paid to drink Gatorade, adorns the cover of an NBA video game and has an exclusive agreement with a trading-card company. Wade said numerous other companies have pleaded for his pitchman services; most get turned down.
"He's going to be real big," said Heat center Shaquille O'Neal. "I tried to show him the way, how to get it done, what to do. And he's handling it all very good."
The Converse contract, of which Wade won't discuss specific terms but is believed to dwarf the original $400,000-a-year deal he signed, is his most lucrative off-court pact _ and is the vehicle that he hopes can carry him to that rare, vaunted level of superstardom that only a few NBA players have truly reached.
"Dwyane is the big gun," Erving said. "The company is banking on him to follow up on two sensational seasons on and off the court and bring an image to the company that is consistent with what the company had. ... It will be a challenge for Dwyane to get there, but that's where the bar is, and he has that potential."
Converse operates independently of Nike, which spent $305 million to buy its former top rival in July 2003. The company has roots dating to 1908, and its most popular shoe was named for Chuck Taylor _ a player who worked for Converse and traveled the country from the 1920s until the 1960s, hyping basketball and selling shoes.
Company officials say Converse's goal isn't to return as a dominant shoe company, but simply to try and recapture some consumers who turned elsewhere over the last 15 years.
"I wouldn't say it's the rebirth of Converse," said Ric Wilson, the company's director of sports marketing. "Even during some of the down years, Converse products were still in the marketplace. The brand never went away. I would say it's a new phase and a new direction."
And it's all built around Wade, one of a handful of young NBA talents _ a list that also includes Chicago's Kirk Hinrich, Toronto's Chris Bosh, Orlando's Jameer Nelson _ to align with Converse.
"This is a dream come true, to have a brand built somewhat around you," Wade said. "I love that. We don't have a lot of guys, but I think we all look at it as opportunity. It's a very big step for me and my career."
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