In late 2019, rookie of the year winner Luka Doncic signed a sponsorship contract with Jordan shoe brand. Apparently, other brands were trying to get Doncic such as, Under Armour and other brands. 

At this time, he was getting MVP buzz around him and still is. This means that whichever brand he signed with would get a massive burst in sales and recognition.  Although, Lebron was trying to make a “Team Lebron” at Nike with Luka Doncic as his first signing. Lebron appeared on the podcast, “Road Trippin,” on this podcast, he goes into detail about how he wanted to make an ‘all-star’ line up of people that signed with Nike.  Similar to what Under Armour and the Jordan brand has done. Unfortunately, Nike didn’t allow this at the time, so Lebron couldn’t make this umbrella at Nike.  If Lebron can make this ‘umbrella’ of a brand at Nike while Doncic is signed with Jordan, there is no doubt that when Luka’s contract ends in four years, he will have incredible offers from almost every brand. 

Luka has a great future in front of him, considering the historic rookie and sophomore numbers he put up 2 seasons ago and last season. The type of legacy Lebron has and the future Luka has could be a game-changer at Nike. Interestingly, Nike didn’t allow Lebron to create this ‘brand-in-a-brand’ at Nike. Considering that Nike’s biggest miss is Stephen Curry. Although Jordan is still technically a brand under Nike, they do have Luka Doncic in some way. Although, with the ‘roster’ that Jordan has, such as Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson, it can definitely become crowded. Lebron speaks highly of Luka Doncic since that Luka’s game development is unlike any other than Lebron. As Doncic continues to improve and improve his recognition on all platforms and his face, the game will grow more. 

Many more young talent will come along as seasons progress in the NBA, and as more stars come into the NBA, more brands and endorsements will attempt to try and give them a face in the league. If Nike can pull off a ‘superteam’ brand within Nike with various NBA members, it will undoubtedly be a game-changer in the apparel industry.