The pressure is now on Michael Jordan to find a shoe Zion Williamson can’t destroy.  No. 1-overall pick and New Orleans Pelicans star forward has signed a shoe endorsement deal with Jordan Brand. That means the Big 3 of sneaker companies — Nike, Adidas and Under Armour — struck out on the top newcomer on the market, even if Jordan Brand is a subsidiary of Nike.  “I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Jordan Brand family," Williamson said via ESPN’s Nick DePaula. “Since I was a kid, I dreamed of making it to the league & having the type of impact on the game Michael Jordan had & continues to have today. He was one of those special athletes I looked up to.”  “Zion’s incredible determination, character and play are inspiring," Jordan said in a statement. “He’s an essential part of the new talent that will help lead the brand into the future. He told us he would ‘shock the world,’ and asked us to believe him. We do.”  The details of his contract with Jordan Brand aren’t immediately known.  Williamson was a sneaker free agent and had experimented with different Nike sneakers in his lone season at Duke. Most Read Boxer Maxim Dadashev, who suffered severe brain injury during Friday fight, has died at 28 Mom charged with murder after dropping baby during fight outside Georgia store SEE IT: Groups of jeering men douse NYPD cops with water; police unions slam ‘reprehensible’ actions and blame NY pols for ‘anti-police rhetoric’  But he entered the business spotlight when his shoe exploded one minute into a Feb. 20 rivalry game against North Carolina, causing a knee injury that sidelined him for five more games over a three-week span. The sneakers he wore that night were Paul George’s PG 2.5s. He also experimented with LeBron James’ LeBron 16s Kyrie Irving’s Kyrie 4s, and even the self-tying Nike Self-Adapts. None seemed like a good fit for Williamson, whose body type and athleticism have created one of the rarest NBA players in the history of the game. It’s up to Jordan Brand to create sneakers that won’t explode.  The Brand also represents top tier NBA players, like Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum and Carmelo Anthony. On that list, Griffin is easily the most comparable to Williamson from a game-type standpoint.  Williamson’s Duke teammate, Cam Reddish, who went to the Hawks at pick No. 10, has signed a multi-year shoe deal with Nike. R.J. Barrett, whom the Knicks selected third-overall in this year’s NBA Draft, has yet to decide on a shoe company to endorse.

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