At last, we can all stop asking the same question about WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson.
The 27-year-old center for the Las Vegas Aces and her longtime endorser, Nike, now have an answer to one of the most polarizing prompts in women’s basketball — Where is A’ja’s signature shoe?
On Saturday, Nike officially announced Wilson as the global footwear company’s next signature headliner. This makes her the 13th player in the WNBA’s 28-year history to be selected to design and release her own sneaker – the A’
“To finally say I’m a signature athlete is truly a blessing,” Wilson told Andscape via the Zoom platform earlier this week before Nike’s official announcement.
According to Nike, Wilson’s sneaker will be released in 2025. However, Wilson was confirmed to receive her signature line in early 2023.
“The trust that Nike and I have developed with each other, and the hard conversations that we’ve had, has personally been my favorite part of the process,” Wilson said. “Because those are the things people don’t necessarily see. But it happens — it’s all in the words.”
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Now, entering the 2024 WNBA season, Wilson is one of just three active WNBA players, joining New York Liberty players Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, with an officially announced signature shoe line. In late April, 2½ weeks before Wilson and Nike’s planned announcement, The Athletic reported Indiana Fever’s No. 1 overall pick and rookie Caitlin Clark had an eight-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Nike that included a signature shoe. However, Nike has declined to comment on the details of Clark’s endorsement contract or officially confirm that she has a signature shoe in the works.
“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 said. “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.’ ”
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (right) becomes the first Black woman since former WNBA player Sheryl Swoopes (left) to headline a Nike signature sneaker. Swoopes’ Nike Air Swoopes Premier was released in 2002.
David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images
Wilson will soon become the first Black woman to headline her own signature basketball shoe for Nike in 22 years, since Sheryl Swoopes’ seventh and final model, the Air Swoopes Premier, which was released in 2002, when Wilson was 6.
“It did take a moment — probably longer than what I wanted, probably longer than what a lot of people wanted — but we’re here now,” Wilson told Andscape. “And that’s what truly matters — to just continue pushing the needle.
“I’m just so glad to say that I am now a signature athlete.”
On April 11, Nike granted Andscape interviews with Wilson and University of South Carolina coach Staley during the brand’s “Nike On Air” activation in Paris, which was held in advance of the 2024 Summer Games.
In separate interviews, the WNBA star and her former coach commented on the status of Wilson’s long-anticipated debut Nike signature shoe.
At the time, neither Wilson nor Staley, an official Nike endorser since 1995, could confirm that a Wilson shoe had officially been in the design process for more than a year. They also didn’t disclose details surrounding the shoe’s mid-May announcement.
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Yet Wilson and Staley, who form one of the most beloved mentor-pupil relationships in women’s basketball, each spoke calmly and candidly about the potential of a signature shoe for the reigning WNBA Finals MVP.
Wilson didn’t hesitate in her response to one of the conversation’s opening questions: How many times would you estimate you’ve heard “Where’s your shoe?”
“If I had a dollar for every time I’ve read or seen the question, I’d probably be a gazillionaire,” Wilson told Andscape with a laugh. “But it’s a blessing to have a fan base that wants more for me, that wants to see me in different places. It’s been amazing to see how much fans want a signature shoe for me at Nike. When that time comes, we’ll be ready.”
Wilson reflected upon one specific moment when she fielded a question about why she had yet to receive her own shoe.
Following Game 1 of the 2023 WNBA Finals between the Aces and New York Liberty in October, a reporter spoke about it during a news conference with Wilson and Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon.
“I just thought the best player in the league should have their own shoe,” the reporter said before Wilson let out a calm sigh and Hammon interjected.
“She needs her own shoe, let me answer that,” Hammon said. “I’ll toot her horn because she won’t. She’s the two-time MVP, an Olympic gold medalist, the best defensive player in the league. Like, stop … Stop.”
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson speaks to the media after the game against the Dallas Wings during Game 2 in the second round of the 2023 WNBA playoffs on Sept. 26, 2023, at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images
“Hearing the question does get tiring, but it’s something that I don’t take for granted because I would much rather people ask than not say anything because that would mean I’m not deserving,” Wilson told Andscape in Paris. “But there’s definitely value in patience. That’s something Coach 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 gonna stick through.”
Staley also spoke to the palpable anticipation of Wilson’s debut signature shoe during her April 11 appearance in Paris with Nike. And, of course, Staley, who headlined two of her own Nike signature shoes in 1999 and 2000, addressed the subject.
“For A’ja, a signature shoe is only deserving,” Staley said. “I think she’s the best player in the world. And the best player in the world probably should have a shoe already. But it’s the buildup as well. You want the shoe to be right. You want to go through the process of putting your heart and your everything into your first shoe.”
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Twenty-five years ago, Nike released Staley’s first signature shoe, the Air Zoom S5, ahead of her debut season in the WNBA after she had played three years in the American Basketball League. After first signing with Nike in 1995, Staley played four full pro seasons before Nike released her first signature shoe in January 1999.
So, if there was anyone in this world that Wilson could turn to for peace of mind on her path to her first signature shoe, it was Staley.
“A’ja is going to have a better shoe because she’s a two-time WNBA champion,” Staley said. She’s going to have a better shoe because she’s a two-time Olympian now. You need elements of storytelling in a shoe, from playing to also your background and upbringing. So, I think the longer the story, the better the shoe. Although, we all want A’ja to have her shoe already.”
In February 2023, ahead of a fateful meeting at Nike’s Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters, Staley received an assignment from the Swoosh.
Nike wanted the South Carolina coach to be the first person to share the news that Wilson has awaited since first signing with the brand as a rookie in 2018.
“I was shown a video from Coach Staley in which she told me, ‘This is the moment — the moment we’ve all been waiting for,’ ” Wilson recalled. “Coach Staley let me know that I was now going to be a Nike signature athlete and there was definitely a bucket of tears.
“Because, it was in a moment when questions were being asked,” Wilson said. “A lot of people were looking at me and I didn’t really have any answers. I just wanted to play my game and move on. Then, it was a huge moment to have my college coach let me know, ‘Nah, girl, you’re getting your own shoe.’ ”
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson signs autographs after the game against the Dallas Wings during Game 2 in the second round of the 2023 WNBA playoffs Sept. 26, 2023, at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images
You’d think Wilson would’ve immediately rushed to dial mom and dad back in South Carolina. Instead, Wilson employed a similarly consistent approach to handling all the questions and noise in the past few years. Essentially, the WNBA star has kept quiet, even in conversations with Eva and Roscoe Wilson.
“I was kind of hesitant to tell my parents,” Wilson said. “Because, you know how parents get — they run with it all! Actually, my parents still haven’t even seen the shoe. They know I’m a signature athlete and I’m gonna to get a shoe. But, they have no idea about anything else.”
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In the past 15 months, Wilson and her management team have celebrated in silence, and all the while she’s developed a strong working relationship with Nike Basketball senior footwear designer Ben Nethongkome, who’s leading the signature process behind her upcoming shoe. Nethongkome designed multiple models for former Nike signature athlete Kyrie Irving’s heralded line, before becoming Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant’s lead designer. Nethongkome also crafted the debut signature models for Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and the New York Liberty guard Ionescu.
“Just seeing Ben tap into his mode has been the highlight of the whole making of the collection. I tell Ben, ‘I’m so lucky that you’re on my team pushing out this shoe.’
Since early 2023, in design sessions that sprinkle over into texts, the 6-foot-4 WNBA center has been picking Nethongkome’s brain. Both quietly have their minds set on a specific signature sneaker culture objective for the design of the shoe Wilson requested in a low-cut silhouette.
“I know people are like, ‘It’s hard for bigs, it’s hard for post players to sell shoes,’ ” Wilson said. “But I’m like, ‘Well, no… there are shoes for everybody.’ And my shoe is not going to be one-dimensional, because I’m not one-dimensional — whether on court or off court.”
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson wears a black and gold Nike LeBron 21 Player Exclusive during the 2023 WNBA Finals.
David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson plays against the New York Liberty during Game 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center on Oct. 18, 2023, in New York City.
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Until her shoe is officially finalized by Nike and ready for her to debut on the court ahead of its planned 2025 retail release, Wilson will lace up special-edition makeups of Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James’ latest signature model, the Nike LeBron 21. During the 2023 WNBA Finals, Wilson became the first pro hooper to wear the LeBron 21 on the court, even ahead of James himself, who handpicked his favorite WNBA star to debut his signature shoe while she shaped her own.
“Sis the TRUTH!!!,” James, a fellow Klutch Sports client, posted on Instagram after the Aces won their second-straight title at the end of last season. “Signature shoe coming!! I mean what we talking about!”
For her footwear journey’s biggest moment yet, a signature headliner is exactly how Wilson returns home to South Carolina. There, in August 1996, Wilson was born four days after the USA women’s basketball team won gold at the Atlanta Summer Games, playing with the first three African American women who received the opportunity to headline signature sneakers for Nike Basketball.
After Swoopes, Leslie and Staley came Cooper, Holdsclaw — and, finally, more than two decades later, A’ja Riyadh Wilson.
“I understand this weight is heavy, but it’s happy weight,” Wilson said. “So, I’m like, ‘We’re going to move this needle.’ So, the next young Black girl doesn’t just have to wear my shoes or my collection. She can then dream to be the next one. And that’s what it’s all about. The women of ’96 gave young girls like me a dream to be like, ‘No, this is real. I can obtain it.’ It’s spiritual, it’s powerful to me and something I don’t take lightly at all.
“This shoe is for us.”
Aaron Dodson is a sports and culture writer at Andscape. He primarily writes on sneakers/apparel and hosts the platform’s Sneaker Box video series. During Michael Jordan’s two seasons playing for the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s, the “Flint” Air Jordan 9s sparked his passion for kicks.
