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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A’ja Wilson has come to realize what is delayed is not always denied.
The two-time WNBA champion and three-time league MVP proudly released her long-awaited Nike signature shoe and athletic apparel collection in her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, where she helped lead the South Carolina Gamecocks to their first national championship in 2017 and had her college jersey retired on Sunday.
The release of the predominantly pink shoe and apparel collection — which she said reflects her “girly, girly side” — has been 10 months in the making since she signed the lucrative six-year contract with Nike. It's a deal Wilson says signals the continued growth and interest in women’s sports.
“It was just a matter of time, honestly,” Wilson said. “Because we are in it and we live it, we see how much we're valued and worth. But now to see everyone in the basketball community finally catch up, it means the world. To say that I can put out a shoe, and to do this here at home, it's truly special and I'm so excited to see what the future has to hold.”
The price of the shoe will be $110 for adult sizes and $90 for youth sizes. It will be available for purchase in the spring.
At 28, Wilson is one of the most recognizable faces in women's sports. She won an ESPY in 2024 for Best Female Athlete and led the Las Vegas Aces to back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. She has been named an All-Star six times since entering the league after being selected the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2018.
Many in the women's sports world wondered what has taken so long for Wilson to get her own shoe deal. Last year's sensational WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark had a deal for a Nike signature shoe ahead of Wilson.
The delay didn't surprise A'ja's father, Roscoe Wilson, who called his daughter a meticulous planner.
"Ever since A'ja was a child, she's been that way," Roscoe Wilson said. “She would have toys and collectibles as a kid and she would line them up and look them and make sure they were lined up correctly, then change them around. So I always just took that as her way. She's always been meticulous in her planning. She sees how she wants things to go before she finishes."
“So this is a product of her vision from a long time ago,” he proudly added.
His daughter's vision is not just a big deal for the Wilson family.
Wilson’s “A-One” is important for women’s sports, but it's also important for sports in general, said Joe Favorito, a longtime sports marketing executive and professor at Columbia University.
“Companies have been cutting back on custom lines for years and you don't see this very often anymore,” Favorito said. "They have to know there is going to be a big return. Companies have to be very selective. So this is impressive — and it is very rare."
Favorito believes the shoe will particularly appeal to young women and people of color.
“It speaks to the diverse audience, not only for women but also people of color,” Favorito said. “They are creating a shoe that young women can wear, can feel comfortable in — and that is revolutionary.”
Wilson's shoe deal comes about after Clark signed the richest sponsorship contract for a women's basketball player in history last April worth $28 million over eight years.
Wilson said she loved the process of picking out the colors and helping design the shoe and collection, but acknowledged that the release is “a weight off her shoulders.”
Among the many unique features in the design is a replica of the tattoos she wears on her arms —- a tribute to her parents for supporting her through the years — stitched onto the tongue of the shoes.
“To see it finally go live, it's fun and I could not wait,” Wilson said. “The jersey retirement was great, but to have people get answers to their questions about what this shoe is about, it makes my heart really happy.”
Added her father Roscoe Wilson: “The platform she has and the space she is in I think she has used it brilliantly to make a statement about herself, which carries over to women’s sports. She relays her message through how she carries herself and how she plays.”
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