Adidas Takes Aim at Nike’s Most Viral Shoe with Its New Mule

Anthony Edwards signature slide takes its design from the sneaker counterpart. It just happens to look as futuristic as the Mind 001.

Close-up of a white sneaker sole with black accents and a purple stripe near the black midsole.

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By Ethan Brehm

Published June 10, 2026

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If you aren’t fully on board with Nike’s unorthodox Mind 001 mule, you should prepare yourself because it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

And just like the brand’s own Air Jordan 1 and Dunk, the triangular slip-on is sure to inspire a new wave of competitors and reinterpretations, whether or not it has the same neuroscience-focused construction. In fact, we may be seeing our very first unintentional pastiche, but from an unlikely rival.

Slip-on shoe with a black upper, gray sole with cutout details, and a blue accent stripe. — Adidas’s new AE 3 Mule looks like a Mind 001 copycat despite getting its overall look from the AE 3 sneaker counterpart.

Mind your business

Adidas just announced its upcoming slide, the Anthony Edwards 3 Mule (AE 3 Mule), will be dropping this fall. Don’t let the naming convention fool you; there was no AE 1 or AE 2 Mule (although the NBA player will also have his own variant of the Adifom IIInfinity Mule coming soon). The name simply means that this is a mule version of the Anthony Edwards 3 basketball shoe that’s also set to arrive in the coming months.

The brand’s foam slides are known for having comfortable insides.

Adidas

White and black slip-on shoe with blue trim and cutout details on the sole. — The chevron pattern borrows from the NBA star’s 3rd-gen signature shoe, arriving this fall.

Unveiled in a Stone/Lucid Blue colorway, the AE 3 Mule derives its shape from the sneaker counterpart. Both feature an aggressive chevron pattern on the side and overall pyramidal shape. But I can’t help but draw comparisons to the similarly-triangular and futuristic-looking Mind 001, which debuted much earlier.

Close-up of a white textured shoe sole with wavy grooves and small black oval details. — Unlike Nike’s Mind slide, the AE 3 Mule does without the neuroscience-backed nodes underfoot, giving this some decent traction.

Still it’s own thing

Of course, the Adidas slide will arrive without the Mind’s 22 nodes underfoot, so those hoping to stimulate and boost their mental performance are out of luck. Without the neuroscience pods, however, the more textured outsole might give you better day-to-day traction as a typical recovery slide should.

Handling color complexity well, the slip-on features a segmented tongue design.

Adidas

Admittedly, the AE 3 Mule is able to handle more nuanced colors due to the upper design. This inaugural pair sees the off-white Stone balanced with both black and blue accents on the upper alone.

Following the same Adifom-style build language, the slip-ons feature one-piece molded foam construction with an internal design that cradles your foot like a pseudo-bootie. The tongue, or “throat,” is also segmented from the rest of the upper, extending here from the black collar.

Availability and pricing

Arriving shortly after the AE 3 sneaker, the Anthony Edwards 3 Mule will land October 9 from Adidas’ store with a $70 price tag.

For those keeping track, that’s $25 less than Nike’s Mind 001.

Light gray slip-on shoe with black and blue accents and sculpted sole design.

Adidas Anthony Edwards 3 Mule

$70 at Adidas

About the Author: Ethan Brehm is an associate editor at Gear Patrol writing about footwear, watches, spirits, EDC and more. When he’s not shopping for his next G-Shock, he spends his time watching movies and planning a future road trip with his family. He firmly believes CDs sound better than vinyl.

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