Nobody has generated more sneaker talk than Zion Williamson in the last year.
With his must-watch style of play and an infectious smile, Williamson is perhaps the most marketable NBA rookie since LeBron James. And on Tuesday afternoon, the recent No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft announced after much anticipation that he will sign a sneaker deal with Jordan, a Nike brand, becoming the second highly-regarded Blue Devil in the last three years to ink a contract with Jordan. Zion is joining Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics as a new signee. Financial details of the deal are not yet available.
Breaking: @Zionwilliamson signs multiyear deal with Jordan Brand. pic.twitter.com/6OkcYTYMvE
— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) July 23, 2019
Let’s Dance #JUMPMAN pic.twitter.com/Ra0mq4OwYQ
— Zion Williamson (@Zionwilliamson) July 23, 2019
“Zion’s incredible determination, character and play are inspiring,” Michael Jordan, namesake of the brand and NBA all-time great, said in a Nike release. “He’s an essential part of the new talent that will help lead the brand into the future. He told us he would ‘shock the world,’ and asked us to believe him. We do.”
ESPN’s Nick DePaula provided statements from Williamson about the deal:
Zion Williamson: “I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Jordan Brand family. Since I was a kid, I dreamed of making it to the league & having the type of impact on the game Michael Jordan had & continues to have today. He was one of those special athletes I looked up to.”
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) July 23, 2019
Many of the top shoe brands in the world have been courting Williamson since he declared his intention to leave Duke after one season and enter the NBA draft. Zion will without question sell a ton of sneakers under the Jordan Brand. Puma missed out on a major opportunity to make a real splash.
Zion is being heralded as the NBA’s next big thing, and if he lives up to his immense promise in New Orleans, Jordan Brand may have landed the biggest shoe deal signee since Nike inked LeBron James in 2003.
— THE SOURCE
