High School

It's Flagg Day for the NBA and New Balance

As Cooper Flagg prepares to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, New Balance positions him as the centerpiece of its boldest basketball marketing push yet

Gary Adornato

Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is also the new face of New Balance, as the shoe manufacturer makes its push in the NBA.
Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is also the new face of New Balance, as the shoe manufacturer makes its push in the NBA. / David Banks-Imagn Images

New Balance’s Long Game in Basketball Takes Shape

As Dan Shanoff wrote in Wednesday's edition of The Athletic's Money Line newsletter, New Balance has long been a cautious player in the NBA sneaker scene — known more for its legacy “dad shoes” than elite on-court presence. Its first real foray came with the quiet superstar Kawhi Leonard, but the brand’s roster remained light compared to heavyweights like Nike or Adidas.

Now, that’s changing.

Cooper Flagg Becomes the Face of New Balance Hoops

According to Shanoff, New Balance made a bold move this past fall by signing Cooper Flagg, one of the most exciting high school basketball talents of his generation and the presumed No. 1 pick in tonight’s NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, after a brilliant one and done season at Duke University.

Flagg has been a Gen Z phenom since age 15, and now, on the night of his NBA debut, New Balance is seizing the cultural moment with what it’s calling “Flagg Day”—a full-on merch drop and marketing rollout. The state of Maine, Flagg’s home, even declared an official Flagg Day proclamation.

Quality Over Quantity: A Marketing Philosophy

As Shanoff emphasizes, New Balance’s endorsement game is all about “quality over quantity.” Rather than stockpile names, the brand invests deeply in a small, elite roster:

  • Coco Gauff (Tennis)
  • Shohei Ohtani (MLB)
  • Gabby Thomas (Track & Field)
  • Cameron Brink (WNBA)
  • Quincy Wilson (Rising track star)

“Because of New Balance’s approach in signing fewer names than its rivals, it can offer these athletes a dedicated focus on investment in bespoke products and their personal brands that others can’t match,” said Daniel-Yaw Miller, publisher of the SportsVerse newsletter, in Shanoff’s column.

Following the Gauff Blueprint to NBA Stardom

Shanoff points out that New Balance’s marketing relationship with Coco Gauff has set a new standard in athlete-brand storytelling. If that same blueprint is applied to Flagg, he could become one of the NBA’s most recognizable stars—starting tonight.

“Happy Flagg Day,” Shanoff signs off. And for New Balance, it may indeed mark a turning point.

Published
Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

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