Nike Foreshadows Future With Victor Wembanyama
Wednesday night was the most consequential moment the NBA has had in many years. Franchises and their fan bases anxiously watched the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery unfold to see who would get the highly-coveted top draft pick.
Several teams embarked on an epic tank job this past regular season in hopes of landing the generational prospect Victor Wembanyama. The San Antonio Spurs won the draft lottery, but Nike may have won the bigger prize.
Moments after the draft order was revealed, Nike posted a picture of Wembanyama to its social media accounts. The image featured the 7'5" French prospect looking over the night sky in Paris with a comet soaring behind him.
Nike captured the post: "Think [Victor Wembanyama] will change basketball? Think bigger. The wait is almost over." The cryptic social media post could be interpreted as Nike foreshadowing the company's future with the future Spurs center.
While no official contract has been announced, Wembanyama's agent, Bouna Ndiaye, has shed light on the situation. Ndiaye told ESPN in February that Wembanyama has already turned down "some rich deals" and speculated that a $100 million sneaker contract could be in the works.
If Wembanyama's $100 million contract comes to fruition, that would be the largest sneaker deal for any rookie in history. LeBron James signed holds the record for his seven-year, $90 million deal with Nike coming out of high school in 2003. The largest second-largest deal was a $75 million contract signed by Zion Williamson in 2019.
In October 2022, legendary sneaker executive Sonny Vaccaro told TMZ that Wembanyam's unprecedented sneaker deal could include "a blank check." Vaccaro would know as he previously worked with stars including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
If any of this talk feels hyperbolic, it isn't. Wembanyama is the surest thing to a lock the NBA and sneaker industry has seen in a generation. It is sure to be an exciting summer as we learn more about the shoes Wembanyama will wear on his size 20.5 feet in the future.
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