NBA, Adidas to debut in mall stores

Boston Champs Sports and the National Basketball Association announced Tuesday that Adidas, which is the NBA's official uniform provider, has inked a deal with the NBA and Champs Sports for an "Official NBA Shop at Champs Sports."

The NBA Shop will debut in 69 Champs Sports stores in February and will be in the remaining 486 Champs Sports stores nationwide by the start of the 2010-11 NBA season.

The store will be a dedicated retail space with "adidas NBA" apparel, on-court products, fashion and co-branded accessories.

The retail space-within-a-space will look like a basketball court. The spaces will also have images of NBA players, and each shop will have a dedicated local-team area.

The companies say the program will roll out nationwide starting at Champs Sports stores in Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Dallas; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Portland, Ore.; and San Antonio.

Additional shops will open by May in NBA playoff markets.

This is the NBA's biggest retail program since the league's program last year with Sears Holding for Sears' Protege basketball footwear brand.