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Nike releases carefully crafted Rio 2016 basketball team shot

Twitter/@nikebasketball

This photograph Nike tweeted out Monday looks somewhat casual as the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team pose in various stages of dress, ready for Rio de Janeiro.

However, the photo also very carefully masks the shoes of the three players who don't have apparel deals with Nike, the official supplier of the United States Olympic team. That would be, left to right, Harrison Barnes, Kyle Lowry (Adidas), and Klay Thompson (Chinese supplier ANTA).

This is nothing new, as The Vertical's Nick DePaula points out.

As far back as 1992 - when Reebok had the official apparel deal for the first Dream Team - Nike solved the conundrum of legendary pitchman Michael Jordan being photographed on the medal podium in a competitor's label by covering it with an American flag.

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