Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson is finally getting a signature sneaker with Nike, per a report by Alexa Philippou on ESPN.com.The news coincided with the Aces's preseason game against the Puerto Rican national team in Wilson's hometown of South Carolina. Upon arriving to the game Wilson wore a hoodie that says “Of Course I Have A Shoe Dot Com”. The words actually lead to a website announcing the shoe with a special message from Nike.
“You thought we’d sleep on an SEC champion, national champion, #1 draft pick, five-time All-Star, U.S. Olympic gold winner, WNBA Finals MVP, a statue-having, New York Times Best Seller, TIME 100 Most Influential People in 2024, two-time WNBA champion, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, two-time WNBA MVP, and pettiest hooper on the internet?
You thought.
Of course, Aja's got a shoe.
AOne Arriving 2025”
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According to ESPN, Wilson collaborated with Nike for more than a year to create her own signature collection. She specifically asked for the announcement to coincide with the Aces' visit to her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. The announcement also comes in response to the backlash Nike faced after signing Caitlin Clark to a $28 million signature shoe deal.
Fans argued that Wilson's achievements, accolades, and platform justified her own signature sneaker. Clark, a rising star at Iowa, seemed to bypass Wilson in getting her own shoe, causing some tension. However, Nike has confirmed that Wilson will soon have her own signature sneaker line.
Wilson spoke about the fans advocating for her in comments obtained by Andscape and said, “There's definitely value in patience. That's something [South Carolina] Coach [Dawn] Staley has taught me — that some of the best things come from waiting and ‘what's delayed is not denied.' That's something I have tatted on me. That's something I live through. So it's something I'm going to stick through.”
Wilson will become the 13th WNBA player to release a signature shoe. She follows Breanna Stewart, whose Stewie 1s were introduced by Puma in 2022. In the same year, Nike released the Air Deldon for Elena Delle Donne, and the Sabrina 1s for Ionescu followed the next year.
In a statement about her sneaker obtained by Andscape, she talked about the work that went into creating the shoe and emphasized that she wants the shoe to be she wanted the shoe to be “light and comfortable as well as stylish both on and off the court.
“This is something that I've been working so hard on, and I think that's what a lot of people don't understand. I didn't want to just get a shoe…Because I feel like when people think of me, when people think of my team, they know, ‘We're going above and beyond.' And that's what I want my shoe to be.
She added, “It's been an incredible ride, but there's a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders now because it was starting to get hard,” Wilson continued. “But with the movement and growth of the game, I feel like this was the perfect time to say, ‘Hey, I got a shoe on the way.'”
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