I love New Balance, but Duke is with Nike” – Cooper Flagg on being ‘forced’ to wear Kobe shoes during the NCAA Tournament originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg had a big dilemma while playing in the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Flagg signed a multi-year sneaker deal with New Balance while still in college. However, because his alma mater, Duke University, is a Nike-sponsored school, he had to wear shoes with the Swoosh logo during the biggest games of his college basketball career.
Ahead of the Blue Devils’ Sweet 16 showdown against the Arizona Wildcats, Flagg talked about his shoe situation and said he had no choice but to follow the rules.
“Well, it’s obviously a tough situation,” Flagg said. “I love New Balance, but Duke is with Nike, so we have to do that for now.”
Flagg signed with New Balance before playing his first game for Duke
As the top high school prospect in the nation, Flagg was highly recruited not only by the top colleges in the country, but with the NIL in place, the top shoe companies in the industry. Usually, it was a no-brainer for the top high school players to go with Nike or Adidas, even Under Armour. However, Cooper chose New Balance for sentimental reasons.
The connection with New Balance as a family company and a company with Maine roots means a lot to me. That makes this really different and special. My mom used to go to the tent sale for back-to-school shopping there when we were kids. That really aligns the brand with my roots. It’s a perfect fit,” Flagg stated.
And so before playing his first game for the Blue Devils, he signed an endorsement deal with New Balance with the expectation that he would become the brand’s basketball face and be given a signature shoe. However, there was a problem. Duke University has been a Nike-sponsored school since 1992 and has a contract with them until 2027.
Nike trolled Coop and New Balance after his big Sweet 16 game
For the 2025 NCAA season, Flagg rocked Nike shoes during games and official events with the Blue Devils’ basketball team. During that Sweet 16 game against Arizona, Coop was ‘forced’ to wear the Nike Kobe 6 Protro “All-star 2.0” as he did in their other tournament games. In that game, Flagg put up 30 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocked shots in a 100-93 win that sent them to the Elite 8. After the game, Nike even took the time out to troll Flagg and New Balance on social media.
In the Final Four, Duke blew out Alabama 85-65 to advance to the Final Four for the 18th time overall and a record 13th time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Flagg had 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in that game. Then, in the Final Four, the Blue Devils suffered an epic collapse where they squandered a six-point lead with just 35 seconds left in the game. Coop scored 27 points but missed a 12-footer with his team down one point in the closing moments.
That 67-70 loss to Houston not only marked the end of Flagg’s college career as he turned pro after that, but it was also the last time he wore a Nike shoe in a basketball game. And so when he played for the Dallas Mavericks during the Summer League, Flagg finally got to wear the brand he is endorsing by rocking the New Balance Hesi Low in his Mavs debut.
