Presumptive No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham is set to represent the Swoosh.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Cunningham has agreed to a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike, one that is believed to be the highest-earning among members of the 2021 NBA Draft class.
Cade Cunningham — the expected No. 1 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft — has agreed to an endorsement deal with Nike, sources tell ESPN. It’s believed to be the highest-earning shoe deal among players in his draft class.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 27, 2021
"They really put the right message out for people to see. That was important to me," Cunningham told ESPN's Nick DePaula. "I felt like it was a perfect match for me."
Cunningham, a 6-foot-8 guard who spent his lone college season at Oklahoma State University and played for the Texas Titans of Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), is no stranger to playing in Nike products.
During Oklahoma State's Big 12 and NCAA Tournament runs, Cunningham opted to play in the Air Jordan 11 "Jubilee," but he also played in sneakers from the signature lines of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James throughout his freshman campaign.
According to DePaula, "Nike plans to have Cunningham help lead its new 'Greater Than' series, wearing player exclusive editions of models like the GT Cut, GT Run and GT Jump." While the Air Zoom G.T. Cut released in April and the Air Zoom G.T. Run recently released ahead of the Olympic Games, the Air Zoom G.T. Jump is slated to release later in the year, according to Nike.
Here's a look at some of the models that Cunningham will wear in colourways that accent whichever team selects him in the upcoming draft — the G.T. Cut, G.T. Run and G.T. Jump.
Should Cunningham get selected first overall at the 2021 NBA Draft, he would become the eighth Nike athlete to be selected first overall in the last 10 drafts — that's a figure that includes New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who is signed with Jordan Brand, a subsidiary of Nike.
Of the presumed top-five prospects in this draft class, Jalen Green is the only other player to have announced a sneaker endorsement, sharing that he signed with Adidas in late May.
Now that we're learning what sneaker brands they'll be representing, all that's left is finding out which uniforms they'll be wearing next season.
The 2021 NBA Draft is set for Thursday, July 29, at 8:00 p.m. ET at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
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