A’ja Wilson has lots to be pleased with. Along with being a two-time WNBA champion, a staple on the All-Star crew and an Olympian, Wilson is an It Woman. Amid her busy profession, Wilson—who’s at present competing for gold in Paris— is gearing as much as launch her Nike signature shoe. The deal is very vital as a result of it makes Wilson the primary Black lady to get a Nike signature basketball shoe in over 20 years. “To be the subsequent Black lady with a signature shoe, oh my gosh, I’m so excited for subsequent yr. … It’s such an enormous second,” Wilson instructed Footwear Information in her cowl story revealed at the moment. She teased that the sneaker, named the A’One, shall be a “very versatile” and “comfy” low prime shoe.
The thrilling collaboration, which was introduced in Might, was briefly met with skepticism as a result of the information got here after experiences of Caitlin Clark’s personal signature shoe with Nike. “The dialog [on social media] was like, ‘Now you might have a shoe due to Caitlin.’ No, it was by no means that. What’s for me was all the time going to be for me, with or with out this rookie class. I promise you that,” Wilson instructed FN.
Whereas Clark—who was drafted to the Indiana Fever in April—and different 2024 rookies, together with Angel Reese and Cameron Brink, have been credited with growing the WNBA’s recognition, Wilson and her forthcoming shoe show that the league and its veterans have all the time been well worth the hype. Take Reese’s on-court type, for instance. The Chicago Sky ahead beforehand shared that she wears the single-leg sleeve due to Wilson. “I cowl the scar for one, then my two gamers that I actually admire, Te’a Cooper and A’ja Wilson, in addition they put on it too. … So it’s swag. However I’ve used it to cowl my scar,” Reese mentioned through the 2023 NCAA Event. Wilson, in the meantime, instructed FN that she first began carrying the piece as a result of “my leg was not working.”
Reese isn’t the one athlete to hop on the pattern. “[My agent] Jade [English], was at a regional and he or she despatched an image of the ten ladies on the courtroom, eight of them had on the one leg sleeve. She was like, ‘Take a look at the A’ja Wilson impact,” Wilson mentioned.
Wilson’s pregame type can also be noteworthy. Final month, she graced the tunnel in a tennis skirt and textured sandal heels, a fuzzy bucket hat with cargos and an unforgettable monochrome match that consisted of a blue moto jacket and a coordinating leather-based mini gown. She simply will get it.
