Caitlin Clark debuts players edition Nike Kobe 5 Protros at Indiana Fever practice

Caitlin Clark has been a sensation in women’s basketball for years now, helping usher in a new wave of fans to both the college game and the WNBA. And she’s getting her own signature shoe from Nike as the next piece of her basketball ascendancy.

But before her own signature shoes hit shelves, Clark is lending her name to a line of player edition Nike Kobe 5 Protros, which she showed off at a recent practice. With the incorporation of plenty of yellow in the design of these shoes, Clark feels they’re a great nod to her current team, the Indiana Fever, and her college alma mater, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

“I feel like it’s Fever but it’s also Iowa, so you get the best of both worlds,” Clark said in a video shared by the Fever showing off the shoes.

Caitlin Clark debuted her first Nike Kobe 5 Protro PE’s at practice, and talked about how special it is to have her own player exclusives 😍

“I feel like it’s Fever, but it’s also Iowa, so you get the best of both worlds.” pic.twitter.com/4d3FVakThh

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) July 30, 2024

She hinted at another set of player edition Kobe’s that will be “even more Fever,” which she plans to debut down the line.

“The black and yellow, you can’t go wrong. It’s just the best color,” Clark said.

The player edition Kobe’s are part of Clark’s bigger shoe deal with Nike

Clark, in April, was hammering out an eight-figure agreement with Nike and is set to receive her own signature shoe, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported. She had an NIL deal with the footwear giant during her time at Iowa, but that expired when her career ended. It appears the two sides are continuing the relationship despite bids from Under Armour and adidas.

Nike was among Clark’s most vocal supporters as she put together a record-setting season as a senior in 2023. When she broke Kelsey Plum’s NCAA women’s scoring record, the company released a line of shirts that read “You break it, you own it” and debuted special edition merchandise after she passed Pete Maravich to become the Division I all-time leading scorer.

Clark’s partnership with Nike dates back to October 2022 when she joined the company’s first major foray into the NIL space along with other high-profile names in basketball. She also gave her Iowa teammates shoes on her birthday this year as a part of her deal.

Caitlin Clark is the latest WNBA star to sign with Nike

Nike’s line of WNBA signature shoes goes back to 1995 when it launched the Air Swoopes in a partnership with Sheryl Swoopes. But with her endorsement deal in the works, Caitlin Clark will join a select group of current players in the league with their own shoe.

New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart has a deal with Puma and debuted the Puma Stewie in 2021, and Sabrina Ionescu launched the Air Sabrina 1 with Nike last year. In fact, during Iowa’s run to the NCAA Tournament, Ionescu met with Clark and the Hawkeyes to give them all their own pairs.

Clark will now be joining the former Oregon star as a Nike partner, and they could wind up participating in a high-profile event. Charania recently reported Clark and Ionescu could team up against Stephen Curry and another NBA sharpshooter – perhaps Klay Thompson – at its All-Star Weekend. That could be another interesting connection for the two No. 1 overall picks.