{"id":21048,"date":"2019-05-27T13:01:43","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T17:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=21048"},"modified":"2019-05-27T13:01:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-27T17:01:43","slug":"ja-morant-inks-deal-with-nike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2019\/05\/27\/ja-morant-inks-deal-with-nike\/","title":{"rendered":"Ja Morant Inks Deal with Nike"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/temetrius-morant-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Ja Morant<\/strong><\/a> is the first soon-to-be rookie of the 2019 class to sign a shoe deal. The Murray State standout point guard inked a multiyear deal with Nike Monday morning.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Ja Morant Signs with Nike<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The specific details of the contract have not been announced, but news of the deal was broken by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1133032206425821184\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shams Charania<\/a> of <em>The Athletic<\/em> and then confirmed by Morant himself.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">All my life my parents worked for a check. Now I\u2019m proud to say I work for the check. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Nike?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Nike<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NikeBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NikeBasketball<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/b1mTTJLySr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/b1mTTJLySr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ja Morant (@JaMorant) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JaMorant\/status\/1133031988804370434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 27, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Morant is one of the most electric players available in the upcoming NBA Draft. His unwavering competitiveness combined with his do-it-all skill set led Murray State to a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament\u00a0in 2019. He has the potential to become one of the best prospects of his class. Comparisons to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a><\/strong> have been plentiful in during the pre-draft process.<\/p>\n<p>Morant is not expected to be the top selection in the 2019 NBA Draft because\u00a0he shares the class with Duke superstar <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/2019\/05\/15\/zion-williamson-nba-draft-player-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Zion Williamson<\/strong><\/a>. However, all signs point to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/category\/grizzlies\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> selecting him with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/2019\/05\/27\/memphis-grizzlies-future-remains-unclear\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second pick on June 20th<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Though signing with Nike seems like a no-brainer, Morant&#8217;s decision actually contradicts <a href=\"http:\/\/studentunionsports.com\/college-basketball\/2018-draft-class-making-shoe-deals-a-big-deal\/tbutler\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">last year&#8217;s trend<\/a> of signing with Puma, of all companies. A year ago, top prospects <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/aytonde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>DeAndre Ayton<\/strong><\/a> (first-overall <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/draft\/NBA_2018.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pick in 2018)<\/a>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/baglema01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marvin Bagley III<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(second) and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portemi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Porter Jr.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>(14th) all signed with Puma, turning down deals with Nike and Adidas along the way.<\/p>\n<p>Rookie breakout <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngtr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trae Young<\/a><\/strong> and Spurs shooting guard (and hair aficionado) <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/walkelo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lonnie Walker IV<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>inked deals with Adidas before their\u00a0rookie campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Nike has long been the frontrunner to sign Williamson, despite the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=S0TZSPPMS5E\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exploding shoe incident<\/a> that sidelined the Duke Forward for several weeks. Negotiations are ongoing between Williamson and his suitors.<\/p>\n<p>Morant joins some of the biggest names in the league in donning the famous Nike swoosh. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyrie Irving<\/a><\/strong>, and more have signature kicks with the shoe giant.<\/p>\n<p>The future is bright for Morant. This Nike deal is the first of many professional contracts for the young star.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"qlPa22_MR3Ns_CaqZWesmA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1131908560\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'qlPa22_MR3Ns_CaqZWesmA',sig:'EjopvRUfB0plLSphOfzgFzPAuvmYkuaIOAjCvpzmpB0=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1131908560',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ja Morant is the first soon-to-be rookie of the 2019 class to sign a shoe deal. The Murray State standout point guard inked a multiyear deal with Nike Monday morning. Ja Morant Signs with Nike The specific details of the contract have not been announced, but news of the deal was broken by Shams Charania [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3009,"featured_media":21061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,2,62,556,3],"tags":[1419,1822,1418,247,1349,1684],"class_list":["post-21048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-featured","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-news","tag-deandre-ayton","tag-ja-morant","tag-marvin-bagley-iii","tag-nike","tag-trae-young","tag-zion-williamson"],"modified_by":"Youssef Elminyawi","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}