FRANKFURT, Germany -- Adidas signed an 11-year deal with the NBA on Tuesday, making the German athletic shoe company the official uniform and apparel provider for the league.
The company said the deal includes providing uniforms and other products for the WNBA and the NBA's development league starting with the 2006-07 season.
Adidas, a marketing partner with the NBA since 2002, said the deal came as a result of last year's acquisition of Reebok International Ltd., which had been the NBA's uniform and apparel provider since 2001.
The value of the deal wasn't immediately disclosed by adidas or the NBA, but shares of adidas were up more than 2.9 percent to over $208 in Frankfurt trading after it was announced.
Reebok will continue to be a global marketing partner of the NBA and will keep its ability to create NBA-branded footwear.
NBA commissioner David Stern said the agreement means adidas products will be "available to even more fans around the world, continuing our effort to expand the league's accessibility to anywhere fans can dribble a ball or watch a basketball game."
Adidas and the NBA will increase the number of adidas products at the NBA Store in New York. The company will also sell NBA products at its retail shops worldwide, including more than 2,000 in China.
"In the long term, this new 11-year partnership has the power to make the NBA and adidas synonymous in basketball," adidas Group chairman and chief executive Herbert Hainer said.
Erich Stamminger, president and chief executive of the adidas brand, called the deal a first step toward breaking into new markets using basketball.
"This partnership deepens our relationship with a sports league that continues to soar in global popularity," Stamminger said.
Previously, adidas has been best known worldwide for its sponsorship of soccer. The company is expected to benefit from this summer's World Cup in Germany.
Adidas, however, still faces strong competition from Nike Corp., the leader in athletic footwear in the United States. LeBron James and Tiger Woods are among the athletes featured in Nike ads.