Duke's Cooper Flagg signs shoe deal with New Balance

Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, has signed a deal with New Balance, the apparel company announced Monday.

The deal — which was first reported by ESPN — will make Flagg one of New Balance’s signature athletes, likely including a signature shoe. Flagg joins Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray and WNBA rookie Cameron Brink as one of New Balance’s basketball headliners.

“I grew up wearing New Balance, and I appreciate their authentic connection to my community. The focus and growth of the brand in basketball and our shared values and history drew me in,” Flagg said in a statement. “From day one, it was clear that this would be a family-like partnership. I’m so excited to join this family and help them grow the category with young athletes.”

Choosing New Balance wasn’t just a professional decision for Flagg, but a personal one, too: the reigning Gatorade National Player of the Year and five-star recruit grew up just 25 miles from New Balance’s manufacturing plant in Skowhegan, Maine.

Before every new school year, Flagg’s mother Kelly took him and his twin brother Ace to the factory’s annual tent sale, where they’d buy a new pair of sneakers and backpack. To promote Monday’s announcement, the company even shot promotional content with Flagg in his hometown of Newport, Maine.

“Cooper adds so much to our basketball roster, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the New Balance family,” Naveen Lokesh, New Balance’s head of basketball sports marketing, said in a statement. “He is a force to be reckoned with on the court, and we look forward to building our relationship as he grows the game and supporting him in all endeavors.”

Before last season, Connecticut women’s star Paige Bueckers became the first college athlete with their own signature shoe deal, after she signed an NIL contract with Nike. Now Flagg is the second, despite not having played a single minute for the Blue Devils.

While some college athletes have partnered with apparel companies in the NIL era — Adidas signed 15 female collegians in the summer of 2022, for example, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Title IX — it is still a relative rarity earmarked for sports’ top rising stars.

Flagg fits that mold, even if he’s yet to appear in college. Despite reclassifying up to 2024, the 6-foot-9 forward maintained the No. 1 recruiting ranking in the class, and is expected to lead Duke in Jon Scheyer’s third season as head coach. Duke is No. 6 in The Athletic’s preseason top-25 rankings.

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(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)