Andrew Rizzo With help from PUMA. According to Nick DePaula, the Indiana Pacers star is leaving Nike and signing a “massive” multi-year deal with PUMA.
The new deal is said to make Haliburton the “face” of PUMA Basketball, a title now held undisputedly by LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets. Given the face that LaMelo has received four signature models and a handful of lifestyle shoes to date, we can only imagine how much fuel PUMA will put behind Haliburton’s name.
As mentioned, Haliburton previously signed a deal with Nike upon entering the league 2020. He never received a signature model with the Swoosh, but was one of the faces of Nike’s GT Cut line alongside names like Domantas Sabonis and Jrue Holiday. He’ll certainly get a signature PUMA shoe eventually, but no ETAs have been floated at the time of this writing.
Importantly, the news comes after an announcement that Salehe Bembury will spearhead PUMA’s signature basketball shoe category and assisting with recruitment. It remains to been seen whether not Salehe will design the Hali 1 (speculative name), but it’s definitely possible if not likely.
Again, no details regarding Haliburton’s first signature PUMA shoe have been revealed at this early stage, but all indications suggest a mid-to-late 2025 arrival.
