Exactly twenty years ago, PUMA signed Vince Carter to an endorsement deal. That was the last time the athletic apparel brand had signed an NBA athlete, until they recently allowed deals with two top prospects in Thursday’s NBA Draft: Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley, in addition to likely lottery pick Zhaire Smith.
Why the aggressive re-entry into the basketball market? Things began to click together when the brand announced, via Complex, that they had hired Jay-Z as their president of basketball operations.
“It's clear that we're looking at basketball through the lens of culture, and thinking about the fashion of basketball, the music of basketball, all the aspects of culture around basketball as much as the on court presence that we will have.” —Adam Petrick, PUMA global director of brand and marketing
While Drake and Kanye West both have apparel lines of their own with adidas, this puts Jay-Z in a comparatively unique position with control over an entire sport division.
None of those guys operate a sports management agency as Jay-Z does through Roc Nation Sports, either -- notably, the agency represents Kevin Durant, who is currently signed with Nike. Who knows whether or not PUMA can remake itself as a player in the NBA’s sneaker game under Jay-Z’s direction, but it’s certainly an exciting change.
After the release of his (phenomenal!) Everything In Love album in collaboration with his wife Beyoncé earlier this week, Jay’s having quite the week. It’s a good time to trust in his artistic leadership.
h/t Complex
