NBA Prospect RJ Hampton Signs Shoe Contract with Chinese Brand Li-Ning

RJ Hampton, an NBA prospect who has chosen the National Basketball League's New Zealand Breakers over college following high school, has landed a five-year deal with Chinese athletic apparel and footwear brand Li-Ning. 

ESPN's Nick DePaula reported the news on Hampton, who Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman placed third in his most recent 2020 NBA mock draft.

Per DePaula, "the brand boasts more than 6,600 monobranded stores in China and primarily sells its shoes throughout the Asia market since being founded in 1991."

Li-Ning has signed numerous current and former NBA players to contracts, including Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and CJ McCollum. A multi-million dollar deal lands Hampton in good company.

"I really like their shoes," Hampton said. "[With] CJ and Dwyane Wade, it's going to be great."

"They're just a great company," Hampton continued. "They've put a lot of work in with me, and they've really been behind me these last couple months, ever since I made my decision [to play in the NBL]."

ESPN's Jonathan Givony also added further context surrounding the deal:

Per DePaula, "Li-Ning has already created a custom 'RJH' logo for a series of shirts and shorts that he has been working out in, as well as player exclusive colorways of the company's upcoming YuShuai XIII 'Boom' model."

Ranked fifth overall in the Class of 2019 by 247Sports, Hampton was highly recruited out of Little Elm High School (Little Elm, Texas), receiving 17 offers and visiting Kansas, Memphis and Kentucky.

He chose the Breakers, however, following the path of other prep stars who decided to play professionally overseas, including Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Mudiay.

The Breakers begin their 2019-20 season on Oct. 18 against the Sydney Kings.