Charlotte Hornets getting a piece of Terry Rozier with a side of Puma
When the Charlotte Hornets signed Terry Rozier to a three-year, $58 million deal, they knew they’d be getting an exciting prospect. They’ll also be getting the only player on the roster to wear Puma.
If you are a true sneakerhead, then you pay close attention to who is rocking what kicks during the NBA season. Considering the Charlotte Hornets are owned by Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time, the majority of Charlotte’s players wear either Jordan Brand or Nike (Jordan is a subsidiary of Nike).
In fact, the only two players on the roster that wear different brands are Terry Rozier and Willy Hernangomez. Rozier quickly signed with Puma last summer after they relaunched their basketball category and wore their new shoes on the court. Hernangomez primarily wore Adidas for most of the 2018-19 season.
Here’s what Rozier told Bleacher Report about signing with Puma prior to the 2017-18. It says a lot about his character and passion:
"“Me signing with Puma is basically letting you know, I’m taking over the Puma world. You got guys taking over Adidas, you got guys taking over Nike, whatever. I’m competing with the Puma world and I’m taking over that s***.”"
Outside of Rozier and Hernangomez, the rest of the Hornets roster all wear either Nike or Jordan. From Miles Bridges in the LeBron 16’s to Dwayne Bacon in the CP3.11’s, the Hornets were well represented on the sneaker front last season, and that will continue going into this season.
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Rozier is one of the faces of Puma at the moment, and is set to have a big statistical improvement for the Hornets during the 2019-20 season. Puma has also signed DeMarcus Cousins, Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Rudy Gay and Danny Green.
Last season with the Celtics, Rozier averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Now, as a member of the Hornets, Rozier could be one of the league leaders in minutes per game, and will have a lot more shot attempts coming his way. You can expect him those numbers to increase pretty significantly.
Puma may not be as popular as the other brands like Nike, Jordan and Adidas, but they put out some seriously nice sneakers like the Puma Uproar (pictured) and Puma Clyde Court Disrupt after being out of the game for 20 years. Legends like Isiah Thomas, Walt Frazier and Alex English wore Puma during their playing days.
With the NBA’s rule change regarding sneaker colors, Rozier will be able to bust out some sweet colorways. I know I’d love to see a teal and purple pair of Pumas. It’s one of the best color combinations in the league, in my opinion.
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Rozier’s got style on the court, both on his feet and with the ball in his hands. Charlotte Hornets fans are looking forward to watching their new point guard of the future. He’ll be fun to watch on the floor, but it will also be fun to see the slick kicks he’ll be wearing throughout the season.