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The Whiteboard: What shoes should Zion Williamson wear?

By Ian Levy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - MARCH 31: Duke Blue Devils forward Zion Williamson (1) warms up on March 31, 2019, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC prior to the Division I Men's Championship - Elite Eight game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Duke Blue Devils. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - MARCH 31: Duke Blue Devils forward Zion Williamson (1) warms up on March 31, 2019, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC prior to the Division I Men's Championship - Elite Eight game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Duke Blue Devils. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Zion Williamson’s incredible freshman season ended with an Elite Eight loss to Michigan State and it’s hard to imagine that this won’t also be the end to his college career. Williamson has been the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft since early in the fall and did nothing but cement his position over the past few months. In addition, he was given a look at the worst-case scenario of staying in school when a knee injury (that looked potentially much worse than it turned out to be) kept him off the court for a stretch at the end of this season.

If we take things at face value, that Williamson is done playing in a Duke uniform and his next team will essentially be decided by the NBA Draft Lottery, then the next few months will be mostly about riding the current, working on his game, working on his body, getting ready for the next step. Williamson’s future is not entirely out of his hands though. He’ll get to pick an agent and other associated employees. He’ll get to choose a home in his new city to buy or rent, and then fill with whatever tchotckes his heart desires.

He’ll also get to choose what shoes he’ll wear in the NBA, a decision that will almost be accompanied by many millions of dollars and the kind of focused ad-building campaigns that will start crafting his mythology for the hungry NBA fans who are waiting for him.

Williamson could presumably choose any shoe company he wants to represent but common sense can eliminate a few possibilities. Dansko’s are incredibly popular with a variety of working professionals but it’s hard to dunk in clogs. Uggs would provide warmth and casual style but do they have the proper arch support for a man of his girth? We can probably rule out Crocs for the same reason.

Reporting from ESPN implies that Williamson will likely receive offers from six companies — Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma and Anta. That report highlighted both the appeal and challenges of a potential Nike partnership, as well as Zion’s own seeming preference for Adidas going back to high school. If the only that mattered was money, then the decision is as simple as who offers the biggest contract.

But obviously there is more at stake than that, and each company represents a slightly different entry point to the challenge of building a legacy. Signing with Nike might be playing it safe but it’s also associating yourself with established greatness, it would be Zion pointing to the lineage of great players who have repped the company and beginning his career with a firm statement that he belongs in that tier.

Picking Adidas would be a similarly conventional move, although with at least some potential for reinvention. The company has deals with around 50 NBA players but the most notable are James Harden, Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell, none of whom carry the same national gravitas that Williamson could. Here, he could make him the face of the market’s biggest challenger.

Or, he could go in a completely different direction. Stephen Curry is Under Armor basketball, for all intents and purposes but Zion would make an interesting partner. Puma, New Balance and Anta all have NBA relationships but no players in their stable who singlehandedly make them a national player.

In a few months, Zion Williamson will likely join a moribund basketball franchise and begin using his prodigious talents to change their fortunes. It might be fun to see him do the same with a smaller shoe company as well.

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