Deandre Ayton swears his mind was made up before he took the first official meeting with Puma. The 6-foot-11 Bahamian remembered the brand being wildly popular when he was growing up, with Jamaican Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt wearing its shoes. He felt a connection with his mother being from Jamaica.
The NBA draft is a player’s introduction to the league, and millions in endorsements can be waiting for those drafted high. And sneaker heavyweights Nike and Adidas have dominated the performance basketball marketplace for decades. Before 2018, Nike had signed 11 of the No. 1 picks dating from 2001, and Adidas had gotten four; Reebok signed Washington Wizards point guard John Wall in 2010.
But Ayton is an unconventional thinker known to break out different personas — named Alejandro, Josh and Rodrigo — while in college. A shock went through the sneaker community when the 2018 No. 1 pick announced he had signed a four-year, multimillion deal with Puma.
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“I always wanted to be different,” the Phoenix Suns center said. “Just actually picking the brand, it’s almost like picking a tattoo — it’s something personal to me.
“It’s a statement. People are watching, and it’s a lot of haters out there. A lot of doubt. Puma is a brand where we don’t care. We’re the next hot thing coming. And with the players and the people they have around us and the people we’re meeting and the people they’re recruiting, this thing can only go bigger.”
That 2018 draft was the official return to the performance basketball marketplace for a brand that had been out of the game for decades. Puma returned with a bang and signed five of the top 16 picks: Ayton, Marvin Bagley III (No. 2 overall), Kevin Knox (No. 9), Michael Porter Jr. (No. 14) and Zhaire Smith (No. 16). Two years later, Puma could have another No. 1 pick and, arguably, the most recognizable name in Wednesday’s draft in 19-year-old LaMelo Ball.
“Basically, we had a reboot plan,” said Adam Petrick, Puma’s global director of brand and marketing. “My job was to think about how we could reignite the brand and really kind of just come back stronger than ever and be the Puma that we wanted to be. And a lot of that had to do with really refocusing on sports in general and saying: ‘Let’s recognize the fact that we are a sporting goods brand, or sports brand inherently. We have 70 years of history in the sports category. And to ignore that is just kind of a waste.’ ”
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The directive came in 2013 from new CEO Bjorn Gulden. Puma had been in the performance basketball market starting in the 1970s with Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s signature shoe and grew a roster that included Isiah Thomas, Ralph Sampson, Vince Carter and others over the years. The company faded out of the basketball market in the United States but remained a huge player around the world in soccer, track and field, golf and racing. A culture-first approach was developed, and partnerships with entertainers were established.
A five-year plan began with the decision to focus on basketball. The company knew it wasn’t Nike or Adidas and, therefore, should do things a bit differently.
“Who better to help us define what Puma basketball is going to look like than Jay-Z?” Petrick said. “Our positioning as a brand has always been that we’re out there for people who want to do things a little bit differently, for people who are not looking for the typical. It just means that we like to have an affinity with people who are creatively minded and want to challenge conventions and do things differently.”
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Puma had worked with Jay-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, for years, and Puma named its artist Rihanna creative director of its women’s collection in 2014; her Fenty line has grown into an independent luxury fashion line. Jay-Z was introduced as creative director of the basketball division in 2018 and was involved in everything from finding a creative agency to marketing concepts to positioning the athletes and even individual colorways of sneakers. He even designed the private jet made available to the Puma roster.
WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith, a Roc Nation Sports client, in 2017 became the first professional basketball player to sign with Puma since 1998. She debuted the Puma Clyde Court Disrupt at the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game in its original red, yellow and black colorway. The 2018 NBA draft class was next.
“The Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier signing set a standard of cool,” Diggins-Smith said via email. “When I walked onto the court in my Pumas, people noticed because they loved the style and I was able to brag about the design. I don’t see it as a reentrance as much as it is beginning a new chapter to a long history. ... I’m now part of a legacy that includes Walt Frazier and Tommie Smith.”
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With its culture-first movement and approval from a growing roster that includes Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, Puma has a credibility it simply didn’t have a decade ago. Entertainers J. Cole and Meek Mill also have released shoes on the platform.
The brand’s reputation took a hit when Carter’s 10-year deal, which he signed in 1998, ended after a year and a half. Carter, who became one of the most popular athletes on the planet, complained that the shoes hurt his feet — and that reputation stuck.
“For people my age, it was like: They had Vince Carter, he hated the product and ended up breaking the clause in his contract so that he could wear basically anything he wanted, and he shifted over to Nike,” said Brandon Edler, Guess director of communications. “... They had no respect in that vertical whatsoever.”
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Edler pointed out that Puma has gained some momentum in a difficult marketplace that is dominated by Nike and described a company that is able to lean into cultural moments and has a level of creative flexibility and freedom the larger brands don’t always have.
The creative approach is what has attracted this new crop of players. Ball signed despite the spring relaunch of his father’s much-maligned Big Baller Brand and other offers.
“They allow me to be me and showcase my creativity,” Ball said in an email. “Puma’s leading the way with culture — music, fashion and basketball. It was a good fit for me because our interests are the same.”
Puma is still waiting for one of its athletes to take the leap to stardom or for a memorable on-court moment, such as Dee Brown pumping up his Reeboks during the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest — or Carter dunking over 7-foot-2 French center Frédéric Weis in the 2000 Olympics wearing Nike Shox.
When Ball hears his name called in Wednesday’s draft, it will be another chance for the company to strike gold.
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