Jordan Brand announced its NBA rookie class, and all four players have roots with the Jumpman. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA), Marcus Sasser (Houston), and Jett Howard (Michigan) all played at Jordan Brand-sponsored universities, and Cam Whitmore (Nike-sponsored Villanova) played on Carmelo Anthony’s AAU team growing up. Howard’s roots run even deeper as his father and Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was a brand endorser during his playing days. Jordan Brand signing four first-round picks from major college programs sounds normal, right? Not exactly.
Until a few years ago, the brand had drifted away from major rookie signings. Gone were the days when players like Carmelo Anthony started their career wearing Js, and in was an era where the brand would mostly sign Charlotte Hornets’ non-lottery picks. Those modest signings would fill the brand’s roster with low-cost youth while it waited for Nike players like Russell Westbrook and Jayson Tatum to develop into stars and switch over. There were exceptions, of course, like Chris Paul moving from the Swoosh to the Jumpman after only one season, but for the most part, Jordan wasn’t betting on youth.
That strategy changed in 2019 when Jordan Brand signed Zion Williamson to the richest annual rookie deal in NBA history. Zion wasn’t alone either. That same summer, MJ handpicked Nike athlete Jayson Tatum and incoming rookie Rui Hachimura to join the family. In the four years since, the Jumpman roster has gone big and gone young. From Luka Doncic to last year’s Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero, the Jordan roster went from future Hall of Famers in the final stages of their careers to perhaps the most talent-stacked lineup in basketball.
The big 2019 strategy shift wasn’t a coincidence. Jordan Brand wanted to get back to where it started, dominating on the court. Led by its then-new Vice President of Sports Marketing, Anthony DiCosmo, the brand shifted its focus to investing in young stars. In just a few years, DiCosmo and his team have revamped Jumpman talent across all sports, including the NFL, NASCAR, and the WNBA, where the brand’s roster has grown from two players to twelve since 2019. And from the looks of its NBA rookie class, Jordan Brand isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
