Today, New Balance announced its signing of Cooper Flagg, an acclaimed prospect widely expected to top the NBA’s draft board next summer. He’ll join Kawhi Leonard, Dejounte Murray, Cameron Brink, Jamal Murray, and Zach LaVine as brand ambassadors for New Balance’s resurgent basketball lineup.
Flagg explained his decision in a statement released by the company: “I grew up wearing New Balance, and I appreciate their authentic connection to my community. The focus and growth of the brand in basketball and our shared values and history drew me in. From day one, it was clear that this would be a family-like partnership. I’m so excited to join this family and help them grow the category with young athletes.”
Wasting no time, New Balance released its first of what we expect will be many ads starring Flagg:
Cooper Flagg, The Intelligent Choice. pic.twitter.com/JvvvMM9lfm
— New Balance (@newbalance) August 26, 2024
Those anticipating a signature shoe will likely need to exercise patience, however, as Flagg will spend the upcoming season playing for Duke University, which is sponsored by Nike.
Stay tuned to NikeTalk’s New Balance Basketball thread for updates, and to join our community discussion of this signing.
Duke's Flagg signs on as New Balance endorser
If not, no biggie
Really wish some retailer had these in stores so I could at least try them on first.. that cushion setup looks fantastic.
They’re 79 here. I think they’re very comfortable and the cushion is great. It’s soft, kind of bouncy but a little high off the ground. The only issue I see is that they might not hold up as well laterally as other shoes because of how soft they are though. I saw someone’s foot leaning over the sides in their pair. That hasn’t happened to me yet but I rotate.
I plan on getting the Black pair when those drop.
If these are just a better version of the FF BB V2 then I think I’ll just wait for them to hit shelves locally… personally I like the look of the V5 more anyway
Grip is silent but pretty good. If there anything like the previous Kawhi they could grip even more as they break in.
Midsole cushion. Feels great, it is definitely thicker than the 2. For heel to toe transition they are slightly clunky. Not as bad as the 1 and worse than the 2. Don't get me wrong heel to toe transition wasn't mad at all. Didn't feel the spring plate much but the midsole is kind of stiff so I can imagine that it would be good for springiness. Not much court feel they are similar to the 1 in this way, but the containment is better in the 3. I feel like the 1 contained your foot on lateral movements with the upper. On the 3 there is containment in the midsole because it rides up a little on the lateral sides of the foot. I feel like they will get even better when they break in a little.
Upper, is comfortable, more flexible than the 1 and 2 no break in needed. I did not feel any hot spots. The material is thick, They run a little warm but not bad. The heel cup is great keeps the foot in place.
I'll be honest, I've been buying only Nikes for the past 10 years. Its crazy how much better quality these are, compared to J's and today's Nikes. There seems not to be a stitch out of place or color blocking on the rubber bleeding into each other. I thought the pattern on the toe was silk screened on but it seems to be a different texture of thread.
I wear size Men's 9 for Nikes but Ive been hearing these run long. So I ordered half a size down, and I like the fit, They might be a slightly too tight but I know the foam will break down into something that fits like a glove, It is very difficult to put a foot into the shoe initially but lock down seems legit
Honestly just want to see this CW released and I’ll be good till the sig comes out
GREY MIST / GOLD / BLACK