One thing that sticks with me about Dante Exum is the fact that he was in a bunch of sorta-funny but also sorta-lame Foot Locker commercials after he was drafted but before he played in the NBA. I feel like usually spots in Foot Locker commercials are reserved for good or at least proven NBA players, but on that particular occasion they decided that Australian phenom Dante Exum would be the perfect person to help them sell more shoes to the masses.
Now it turns out that he’s sort of a bust, which turns those commercials from a mere capitalistic exposition into a sad monument to Exum’s presumed, but failed, stardom. Every time I think about those ads I just feel sad that Foot Locker tried to ride his future fame into shoe sales but the only thing that happened is Exum injured himself and now his role in the Jazz offense is often to stand around and wait for corner threes. What happened to the next Kobe? Where did he go?
If I’m a rookie entering the NBA next year I absolutely decline any offers to appear in Foot Locker commercials until I average at least ten points per game over an entire season. Hopefully some of those upcoming rookies are reading this. You know they watch highlight videos, why not watch mine and gain invaluable wisdom about turning down lucrative advertising contracts just to avoid making sad commercials?