New York (AFP)

Young basketball star Zion Williamson, selected in June by the New Orleans Pelicans but who has not yet played in the NBA, announced Tuesday on Twitter that he has signed up with Jordan Brand, a subsidiary of Nike, five months later. an incident that could have compromised the chances of the American equipment manufacturer to recruit the star player.

It's a great move for Nike: on February 20, during a university match, the new wonder of American basketball had indeed seen one of his shoes Nike literally explode, only thirty seconds after the start of the meeting, causing him a sprained knee.

"I feel blessed to be part of the Jordan Brand family," said winger Zion Williamson, quoted in a Nike statement. "Since I'm a kid, I dream of joining the league (NBA) and having the impact on the game Michael Jordan has had and continues to have."

Since the launch of the Air Jordan 1 shoe in 1985, the line associated with basketball player Michael Jordan has been an unprecedented success, to the point that in 1997, Nike decided to make a separate subsidiary: Jordan Brand.

Sixteen years after the retirement of Michael Jordan, the brand has become a giant, which alone has generated 2.85 billion dollars (2.56 billion euros) in turnover, double the revenue generated by Nike in the basketball market.

The image of the brand, whose logo represents Michael Jordan during his flight, is so strong that it launched last year on the football market, by partnering with PSG.

Jordan Brand's strategy, which has reissued all models worn by Michael Jordan himself during his playing career and regularly distills limited series, has been one of the major vectors of the development of the collectible basketball market.

"Zion's incredible determination, personality and game are inspiring," said Michael Jordan, quoted in the statement. "He is an essential part of the new talents that will be the brand in the future, he told us that he would + shake the world + and asked us to believe him, we believe him."

"There's something special about Zion that reminds me of + MJ + when he was younger," said Howard White, vice president of Jordan Brand, quoted in the statement.

The amount of the transaction has not been revealed.

© 2019 AFP