While the NBA Draft Class of 2017 brought a revolutionary deal, sporting the only lottery pick to boast its very own shoe brand, this year's players are making waves by bringing a brand back from the dead, as two surefire lottery picks in Arizona's DeAndre Ayton and Duke's Marvin Bagley III have signed with Puma.
The brand, which has been largely out of the basketball world for the last 20 years, has now resurfaced, signing these two primetime talents, along with soon-to-be draftee Zhaire Smith and the icon who brought the brand to the forefront, legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier to a lifetime deal.
Asked of why he signed with Puma over giant shoe companies like Nike or Adidas, Ayton responded matter-of-factly
“Puma was the best deal,” Ayton told Bleacher Report unequivocally. “To me, anybody can make your shoe. Anybody can make the best shoe for you and put the right fit in the shoe. We were dealing with Nike people, Under Armour and all the other shoe companies for a pretty long time. We ain't really got bad blood with any of them, but it's not bad to start something new.”
“We just thought Puma was the right fit. My mom had a friend at Puma, but we didn't really know she was with Puma. But as I started to get more exposure to the world and basketball, she told us she was with Puma and knew people there. Just knowing all of these people personally, my mom felt comfortable. Another thing is that all these other brands got all these other superstars. It's good that I'm one of the few that's signed with Puma.”
Bagley, who has impressed scouts and coaches alike since coming out of Duke averaging a beefy double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds like his fellow draftmate, had a similar view.
“I chose Puma because I wanted to be different,” he said. “I saw an opportunity where I could come in and build from the jump and work to get to a certain level. I saw myself doing that. They have some real nice stuff. I'm very excited about it, and I can't wait to get to know everybody, keep working with everybody and keep improving.”
Puma will join the likes of Nike, Jordan, Adidas, and Under Armour as some of the brands that rock the court this season, boasting some eager youth to sport them throughout this upcoming 2018-19 season.
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