Get an up-close look at Sabrina Ionescu’s first namesake Nikes as she becomes just the 12th WNBA player to receive a signature shoe.
New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu is fully aware of the potential impact in store that her new signature Nike Sabrina 1 sneaker can have — not just on the athletic industry this year, but on the next generation of athletes as well.
“I think it’s super important that it’s not just a shoe,” Ionescu said. “It’s about the story that it tells and what it’s going to do for everyone that sees it and buys into it.”
Just a dozen female athletes have had a signature basketball shoe in the WNBA’s 27-year history. In total, 23 combined signature models have been produced.
For the first time, Nike’s Sabrina launch will include a full unisex sizing range of the signature model and with a full apparel collection.
“I don’t want to put anyone in that box,” she said. “I want kids and people of all age ranges, males and females, to be able to get this shoe and see themselves in it and the possibility of being who you want to be.”
While Sabrina describes her shoe as “clean and sleek,” the defining detail can be found along the toe, where an intricate embroidery pattern pulls from art cues recalling her Romanian heritage.
“It was important to me [to incorporate] where I come from, how I got here, and a lot of the sacrifices that my parents and my family have taken for me even to play the game of basketball and the game that I love,” Ionescu said. “I wanted to showcase that in the shoe.”
After wearing more than a dozen colorways during the ongoing 2023 WNBA regular season, the official launch of the Nike Sabrina 1 is finally here, with the shoe priced at $125 retail and a full range of apparel launching alongside it.
And just like her lofty on-court aspirations, Ionescu has similarly high hopes for her debut signature sneaker.
“Hopefully, this won’t just be the best basketball shoe, but it’ll be the best shoe,” she beamed.
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