Welcome back to The Athletic's free weekly sports business cheat sheet. Name-dropped: Woody Johnson, Mark Walter, Caitlin Clark, KD and more

Flagg, who’s from a small town in Maine close to a New Balance factory, was immediately appealing to the Boston-based brand.

Cooper Flagg debuted his New Balance sneakers during his first Dallas Mavericks media day. When will Flagg debut his own signature shoe?

To celebrate newly acquired Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg being the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, New Balance is selling "Flagg Day" T-shirts, and let's just say they're on sale for an unbelievable price.

The other thing that matters: neither the Mavericks nor Cooper Flagg sounded concerned about his debut. Summer League performances rarely foreshadow NBA excellence or failure. But one important

Flagg has gone from sitting on a bucket for hours at a time harvesting peas to finding a place in the NBA as the No. 1 draft pick.