Steve Francis spoke of being the first international spokesman for Anta, a Chinese shoe and apparel company. He talked at length about getting to design a signature shoe to fit his tastes and style.
But there was another benefit to his shoe deal, announced officially on Wednesday.
"Financially, it's great," he said. "But also, I'll be pretty much the first American basketball player that endorses this product. I think it's great. That made me really open my eyes, like 'Yeah, these guys are really looking forward to having me as a member of their team.' I just think it's great."
Andy Mao, vice president of Anta, said he hoped to have the Francis shoe available in China in January. The company's products will be on sale in the United States in three or four years. He said Rockets forward Luis Scola is also under consideration to endorse Anta.
"I met with (designer Bill Peterson) for a couple hours before we did the deal," Francis said. "They came to my house. They raided my closet. They looked at all my cars, my dogs, my pool, everything. We have a lot of things we envisioned as far as putting a product together. I think it's going to be something everybody will really enjoy."
Shoe deal for Francis
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