Paige Bueckers makes history with her own Nike signature shoe after Caitlin Clark’s ‘$28m’ deal with brand
Not content to simply follow in Caitlin Clark’s footsteps, Connecticut basketball star Paige Bueckers is making some history of her own.
The projected first pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft has partnered with Nike on a player-edition sneaker to be released Saturday, making Bueckers the first college athlete of the name, image and license (NIL) era to do so with the apparel giant.
Clark, the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year, is expected to release her own Nike sneaker after inking a reported eight-year, $28 million deal with the brand last spring.
Bueckers’ shoe, meanwhile, will be released this Saturday, although the details of her deal haven’t been reported. Nike spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for further information.
‘It’s definitely motivating to wear your own shoe,’ Bueckers said in a statement. ‘I grew up wearing Nikes — all the signature shoes — so it’s surreal to have this Player Edition model. I just want to show out in it.
‘Blessed from the 612 [Minneapolis’ area code] to the 860 [Storrs, Connecticut] – my PE of the Nike GT Hustle 3 will be available on December 7,’ she added online. ‘From the PB Bucket design to the text bubble from my dad to the colorway, every part of this shoe aligns with the player and person I am. Can’t wait for you to check it out.’
Paige Bueckers shows off her new signature shoe: The Bueckers’ Nike G.T. Hustle 3
The Bueckers’ Nike G.T. Hustle 3 will be released Saturday as UConn faces Louisville in Storrs
The second-ranked Huskies will host No. 22 Louisville on December 7.
Although Clark beat Bueckers to the WNBA, it was the Connecticut star who was the bigger recruit out of high school in Minnesota, where she was friends with fellow McDonald’s All-American Jalen Suggs.
In fact, Bueckers was ranked first overall over Clark, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink before choosing UConn, where Clark had once hoped to play.
Since then, she’s earned AP Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year honors over a decorated college career that’s been marred only by the serious knee injury that cost her most of her sophomore season.
This season the 6-foot guard is averaging a career-high 22 points a game while making a remarkable 62.7 percent of her field goals.
Clark and Bueckers aren’t the only women with signature Nike shoes. New York Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart as well as reigning MVP A’Ja Wilson have also struck deals with the brand.
Many, including Atlantic columnist Jemele Hill, blasted Nike for signing Clark to a lucrative endorsement deal before giving a signature shoe to Wilson, a WNBA Finals MVP and former Defensive Player of the Year who initially signed with the brand in 2023.
Caitlin Clark fans can expect to see her Nike signature shoe released sometime this spring
A’Ja Wilson revealed in May that she has her own upcoming signature shoe from Nike
In one critical tweet, Hill appeared to suggest that racism played a part in Nike’s timeline as white players such as Clark, Ionescu and Stewart were all given signature sneakers before Wilson, who is African American. Others, such as Aces coach Becky Hammon, previously argued the Vegas center ‘needs her own shoe.’
But as Wilson revealed in May, her own signature Nike sneaker had been in the works for more than a year. In fact, she announced the deal on Instagram by wearing a t-shirt that reads: ‘Of Course I Have A Shoe Dot Com.’
‘It’s been incredible working with Nike toward a dream of having my collection, and it really is an honor to take this next step and become a Nike signature athlete,’ Wilson said in a news release issued by the sportswear giant. ‘From my logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we’ve worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style.’
The shoe, which will be called A’One, will hit the market in 2025.
