Since its return to the basketball space, Puma has went after and scored several young and up-and-coming players, such as the top two picks in last year’s draft, DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III, the very talented but unproven Kevin Knox, Zhaire Smith Micheal Porter Jr and the mercurial Terry Rozier and DeMarcus Cousins. The brand has also broken ground in the WNBA, as it also added 4-time league All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith to their basketball roster.
In keeping in line with their previous signings, Puma has added RJ Barrett to it ranks, signing third overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft to a multi-year deal.
At an announcement event held by Puma for RJ’s signing held across the street from MSG, hundreds of fans lined up to meet the latest Puma signee. Hundreds of T-shirts were given out and it featured a customized Puma hot dog cart with “RJ inspected” hot dogs.
Barrett said he took his time before he made his decision.
“I waited for a long time, and I really just wanted to weigh my options,” Barrett said. “I really looked at Nike and Adidas hard, but at the end of the day, it came down to Puma and I’m very happy and excited to be a part of the Puma family.”
