In Bagley's case, Nike backed the Phoenix Phamily, a grassroots team in Arizona that featured one of the hottest prospects in the country. His father was coach and team director.
Marvin Bagley Jr. and his wife filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April 2008, during the Great Recession, listing their combined annual income at just over $44,000. Property records indicate the Bagley home was sold in 2011 at a trustee's sale -- typically a sign of a foreclosure.
Four years later, shortly after Nike's sponsorship of the team became public, they left their working-class neighborhood in Phoenix for Southern California. In a tax filing, the Bagleys listed a home address in a gated subdivision in Northridge called Porter Ranch. Similarly sized homes in the vicinity typically sell for $750,000 to $1.5 million, said Jose Contreras, a Coldwell Banker real estate broker active in the area. Rents in the neighborhood range from $2,500 to $7,500 a month.
Neither the Bagleys nor Nike would offer any details about the team sponsorship or the family's personal finances. Contacted via telephone and through the Duke University sports information department, the Bagleys "respectfully declined" to comment.
