Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks warms up before the game against the Toronto Raptors on December 22, 2019 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Mark Blinch / NBAE / Getty Images
Twenty-year-old Dallas Mavericks player Luka Doncic, who is originally from Slovenia, grew up admiring Michael Jordan — as many do. Now, he has officially signed an endorsement deal with the shoe brand that bears MJ’s name, Nike announced Thursday.
A person familiar with Doncic’s agreement with Nike, who asked to remain anonymous because the details are private, said it’s a five-year, seven-figure deal to endorse the company’s Air Jordan line. There were reports the two were close to a deal last week but it was not officially announced until Thursday.
The 2018-19 NBA rookie of the year has had an accelerated basketball career, having signed to one of Europe’s premier clubs when he was 13 years old, according to a blog post on air.jordan. By 16, Doncic started playing in Spain where he garnered the nickname “Wonder Boy.”
He went on to help Slovenia win its first FIBA Intercontinental Cup championship and was also the EuroLeague’s MVP in 2018, according to the blog post. After his European career, he was the third overall pick in the NBA draft.
“Growing up in Slovenia, and all over Europe, everyone knows about Air Jordans because of the impact Michael Jordan has had all over the world,” Doncic said in the blog post. “It’s a brand with an amazing history. The more I learned about their plans and how much they believe in me, it became an easy decision.”
Doncic is currently in his second NBA season and has already tallied more 30-point triple doubles than any player under 21 years old in history, a Nike press release said.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Luka to the Jordan Brand,” Craig Williams, president of the Jordan Brand, said. “He is an undeniable talent, and he’s already demonstrated a fearlessness in the clutch that we prize in the Jordan Brand family.”
Other additions to the Jordan roster this year include NBA players Jayson Tatum, Rui Hachimura, and Zion Williamson, and WNBA players Asia Durr and Kia Nurse.
“We are excited to welcome [Doncic] to the Jordan Brand family,” Michael Jordan said in the release. “He rounds out a roster of incredible new talent united to represent Jordan Brand for the next generation.”
CNBC reached out to Nike for specifics but the company declined to share details beyond what can be found in Thursday’s release and blog post.
