Read an excerpt from a new book titled “The Spencer Haywood Rule: Battles, Basketball, and the Making of an American Iconoclast,” by the Globe's Gary Washburn and ESPN's Marc Spears.

Spencer Haywood once turned down 10 percent ownership of Nike. ... Nike offered $100,000 or 10 percent of the fledgling company for Haywood — 21 years old at the time — to promote its brand.

In 2016, such a proposition would be a no-brainer, but at the time, Nike was relatively unknown, having launched as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, only to become Nike Inc. in 1971.

“Spencer was offered a deal with a new company called Nike to promote their basketball shoes,” Local 4 reporter Steve Garagiola wrote. “They offered $100,000 or 10 per cent of the company.

Magic Johnson and Spencer Haywood have a few things in common. They used to play for the LA Lakers and they missed out on at least $2 billion after turning down Nike. Your login session has expired.

Former four-time NBA All-Star Spencer Haywood could have joined LeBron James and Michael Jordan in basketball's billionaire club but his shares in Nike were sold Skip to main content News ...

Spencer Haywood has packed centuries of experiences into a single lifetime. ... As for his well-documented decision to sell early stock in Nike, Haywood considers it more of a blessing in disguise.

Spencer Haywood was once in Maurice Clarett's shoes, ... He can't wait to meet LeBron James later this month at an NBA rookie event, and let Nike's new $90 million man know who paved the way.