Zion Williamson Getting Full-Court Press from Puma, Nike In the Running

Zion Williamson has still NOT signed a shoe deal — despite being the most sought after NBA draft pick since LeBron James — and our sources say it’s all because of Puma.

Nike was believed to be the front-runner to sign Zion for months … with legendary former Nike exec Sonny Vaccaro telling us he thinks Zion’s deal could hit the 9-figure mark.

And, with Zion rocking Nikes in college, in pre-draft workouts and in some NBA Summer league games … it seemed like it was just a matter of time before Zion signed with the Swoosh.

But, we’re told Puma — which has made a serious push in the basketball shoe space in recent years — has come out of nowhere to become a major contender to sign the NBA’s #1 overall pick.

Puma already has rising stars Marvin Bagley III and DeAndre Ayton on its roster — the first 2 picks from the 2018 NBA Draft.

And, get this … Zion rocked a pair of Puma RS-0 “Video Game” kicks during a Summer league game earlier this month, and our sources tell us that’s no coincidence.

We’re told Nike is aware of the competition and is making a hard push to get a deal done with Williamson first. As one source puts it, “He’s the #1 priority.”

Remember, Zion did have one bad experience with Nike in college … when his Nike PG 2.5s blew out during the opening seconds of the Duke vs. North Carolina game.

Fun Fact: The shoes were never seen in public again after that incident … and Ken Goldin from Goldin Auction told us he thinks the kicks could be the most valuable collegiate sneakers of all time … worth more than $250,000 if they ever hit the auction block!!!