The scene: When Cooper Flagg—the odds-on favorite to be the NBA Rookie of the Year next season—steps onto the court for the first time, he’ll be wearing New Balance basketball shoes.

Why it matters: Flagg is central to New Balance’s effort to reshape its brand identity.

• The company signed him at just 17—before he played a college game—beating out sneaker giants Nike and Adidas.
• Now, he’s front and center in its marketing campaigns, complete with his own “Flagg Day” apparel.

While Flagg will be the first NBA top pick in the past decade (and likely ever) to sport New Balances, he joins a formidable roster of athlete ambassadors helping the brand shed its “dad shoe” image, including NBA star Kawhi Leonard, WNBA standout Cameron Brink, and baseball MVP Shohei Ohtani.

Our take: New Balance’s push to sign Flagg, along with its other star-powered ambassadors, underscores its clear ambition to break into the top tier of global sportswear brands. While Nike and Adidas still lead by a wide margin, New Balance has its sights set on Puma, which reported $9.5 billion in sales last year—well ahead of New Balance’s $7.8 billion.

To close the gap, New Balance needs to turn its growing visibility into demand, which is far from a sure thing. From there, it must maintain that momentum with consistent sales across both its performance and lifestyle lines.

If Flagg lives up to the hype and the brand finds ways to ride that momentum, New Balance could take a meaningful step up the sneaker hierarchy.

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