Despite losing to WNBA Finals favorites Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Semifinals, 2018 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm can hold her head high as she gave it her all in the elimination game, dropping 42 points in a crushing 92-97 loss. And it's only going to get better for Stewart, affectionately known by those closest to her as “Stewie”.

Breanna Stewart and Puma are set to release Stewart's signature shoe line, the Puma Stewie 1, on Friday, 11 years after Adidas released a signature shoe line for Candace Parker, then of the Los Angeles Sparks, the Adidas ACE.

“To be the first woman in over a decade [to get a signature shoe line], is showing where we need to go for what takes us to the next level. It's a bittersweet moment obviously to have a signature shoe, but also knowing that there should be a lot more signature shoes in the WNBA and hopefully more to come,” Breanna Stewart told ESPN's Malika Andrews in an interview.

This sneaker release comes as continuation of women breaking the proverbial glass ceiling in sports, which is even made even more jarring by the fact that 22 NBA players had their own signature shoes during the 2021-22 season. Breanna Stewart hopes that her achievement can set an inspiration for younger girls who want to make their own marks in the male-dominated world of sports.

“This opens a lot of doors. I hope that when kids see my shoe [in retail and online stores], they see the shoe and they wanna play like me, they wanna play like Stewie. That's something that [when I was] growing up, we didn't have.” Stewart added. “[I want] young women & girls to see that not only can they make it to the very top, but they can also make it to the top and have a signature shoe & signature line.”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Seattle Storm player Jewell Loyd in front of Seattle, Washington

Erin Achenbach ·

Sue Bird tells Nika Muhl "welcome to the club" with a smile and sunglasses emoji.

Joshua Valdez ·

Caitlin Clark as the LEFT wrestler and Breanna Stewart (former UConn star) as the RIGHT wrestler, then Dawn Staley (South Carolina women's basketball coach) as the ref

Rexwell Villas ·

ESPN's Nick DePaula wrote earlier this year that only 20 signature shoe models bearing the name of only nine WNBA players have been released during the first 25 years of the WNBA. The release of Puma Stewie 1 is hopefully the beginning of sneaker brands' increased investment in women and hopefully it doesn't take another 10-plus years for another WNBA player to get her due recognition.