No player like Zion Williamson has caused this much stir around the league since LeBron James entering the NBA back in 2003.
Williamson has it all: the size, the athleticism, the strength and the knack for scoring whenever he feels like it. The projected No. 1 pick in this year’s draft is one of the most talked-about players of his generation, immersed with talent and upside. Shoe endorsers will be fighting tooth and nail for this guys’ signature, and according to Fox Business, Williamson could be looking at a $100 million sneaker deal.
The legendary sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro says he thinks Adidas will win the race for Williamson. “They lost out to Nike on LeBron because they didn’t pay the money,” he said, according to Footwear News. “But if I’m Adidas, I’m going to [go all in this time].”
Williamson hasn’t given any hints, and has kept the media guessing too. In a workout on May 31, he was wearing Nike Kyrie 4s, but there may not be anything too much to look into there, as his former collegiate team Duke is endorsed by Nike. At the same time, Williamson has a hesitant relationship with Nike after he famously blew out a Nike shoe during a February 20 game against rivals North Carolina, during which he ended up spraining his knee.
According to CBS News, Nike stock fell $1 billion dollars after the incident, but has recovered since.
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If Zion were to sign the supposed $100 million deal, he would exceed James’ rookie deal with Nike ($87 million) back in 2003.
The Duke star averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game in his freshman season at Duke, and seemed to step up for the big moments for Duke as he scored over 29 points a game in the ACC Tournament and over 23 in the NCAA Tournament.
If and when Williamson gets selected by the New Orleans Pelicans, he will be joining a young team with fruitful talent alongside Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Jrue Holiday, Josh Hart and Elfrid Payton.
