Two months ahead of the NBA draft, freshman star AJ Dybantsa is already making big moves.
On April 29, he officially signed a brand deal with Nike, moving his former NIL contract into a full-blown pro partnership.
“It means everything. They’ve been with me since Day 1. It’s been a great partnership and we’re looking forward to keep building for the long term,” Dybantsa told ESPN.
His partnership with Nike comes with many perks, including a personal logo. The logo, titled “Star Boy” is a combination of five checkmarks, representing his initials. Those initials, AJ, stand for Anicet Jr., the same name as his father.
The name Anicet translates from Greek as “undefeated,” a reflection of Dybantsa’s mentality when it comes to life and basketball.
Before his NBA career has even begun, Dybantsa has already joined an elite crew of active Nike partners. Namely, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Ja Morant and Devin Booker. Many of these NBA stars also have their own signature shoe, one of the pinnacle achievements of a Nike partnership.
“A signature shoe is the goal. When I signed with Nike, I started thinking it would be cool to get my own shoe. Because Nike would always send me different Kobes or Jas or KDs. So it was like, ‘I’m wearing all these other players’ shoes — what if I could get my own and other players wore mine?” said Dybantsa in an interview with Aaron Dodson.
As Dybantsa gets closer to draft night, his confidence in himself grows stronger. He plans on going No. 1 overall, but it doesn’t stop there.
“There's so many greats that have won Rookie of the Year," he said. "I don't want to not win Rookie of the Year. I'm not going to sit here and be like, 'Oh, I don't really care about Rookie of the Year.' Yeah, I definitely want to win it,” he told ESPN.