10
Feb
Footwear Focus
This week in kicks: Shoe finally fits for A'ja
Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo debuted his girlfriend, and WNBA MVP, A'ja Wilson's new pro shoe model, the Nike A'ONE when the Miami Heat took on the Brooklyn Nets on February 7, 2025. Photos: Getty Images
Luka Doncic trade was big but have you seen A'ja's new sneaks?
- Finally! A'ja Wilson's signature shoe
- Patty Mills out of the Utah snow, into the SoCal climate
- Booker throws back to Suns OG Walter Davis
From the moment it broke, the Luka Dončić trade dominated media feeds this week, both in the sports and culture world, as well as society at large.
Orchestrated by Nico Harrison — the infamous former Nike exec whose bungled presentation is the reason Steph Curry left the swoosh for Under Armour — the trade seemed inescapable, with Jordan brand’s main man headed west to join the NBA’s most iconic franchise.
But amongst all the trade news this week, the sneaker industry quietly churned out some impressive stories of its own, including an MVP’s signature debut, as well as our first look at the kicks from the upcoming All-Star week.
A’JA ON DEBUT
After a long, long, loooooong wait, A’ja Wilson finally has her very own signature shoe.
Announced this week, the three-time MVP’s first shoe is aptly named the Nike A’One, making Wilson the second active Nike WNBA star to have a signature sneaker with the swoosh, joining New York’s Sabrina Ionescu.
The Las Vegas Aces star becomes the latest in an impressive list of female Nike signature athletes, including Ionescu, Elena Delle Donne, Diana Taurasi, Sheryl Swoopes, Chamique Holdsclaw, Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, and Jennifer Rizzotti.
The shoe was first revealed in a vibrant pink colourway, with a layered upper representing a pearl, owing to a sentimental necklace gifted to Wilson by her grandmother, and is set to be released to the general public this May.
It might have taken close to a decade, but the top women’s player in the world finally has a shoe of her own — now let’s see what she’s able to do in them.
REEBOK RELEASES MONTREZL-TEASED SNEAKER
He’s made a big splash since signing in the NBL, and one area Montrezl Harrell has excelled in is the sneaker game, so much so that Reebok Australia signed him to a deal shortly after his arrival at the Adelaide 36ers.
A former Reebok athlete during his NBA career, the electric big man has been known to pull on crazy pairs on the court, and most recently he was given early access to don the Reebok Engine A, the brand’s first basketball sneaker release in over a decade.
Harrell was one of a number of big name athletes who have been stepping out in the shoe early, joining the likes of WNBA superstar Angel Reese and Chicago Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis as the faces of the brand’s return to the hardwood.
While the 36ers big man isn’t yet signed for a second season in the City of Churches, rest assured that if he returns he will go even deeper into his on-court bag.
ALL-STAR PACKS REVEALED
With the NBA’s All-Star weekend right around the corner, top sneaker brands have begun to release the colourways that their select athletes will be wearing in The Bay.
For Nike, this consists of the Black Label collection, with the signature shoes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker and more all receiving the all-black treatment.
Adidas will be going with a slightly more colourful operation, with Complex reporting that they will be launching their own All-Star collection, labelled the ‘Outer Limit Pack’.
This collection has been spearheaded by Anthony Edwards, who will play his second All-Star game in the low-top version of his first signature shoe, complete with a champagne, black and blue colour.
BOOKER CHANNELS SUNS STARS AFTER FRANCHISE-BEST EFFORT
Devin Booker etched himself into NBA history this week, when he passed Walter Davis to become the all-time leading scorer in franchise history.
To commemorate the occasion, Booker and Nike cooked up a number of versions of his signature shoe, the Nike Book 1, after wearing the first-ever burnt orange suns pair as he passed the momentous occasion in Portland.
Nike then gifted Booker a version of his shoe infused with inspiration from Davis’ “Sweet D” Converse Startech Mid PE, a meeting point for the two top scorers in Phoenix Suns history.
But he wasn’t done yet, a few days later stepping out in a pair inspired by two-time MVP Steve Nash’s Cradle Rock Low, showing off his steadfast connection to the organisation that drafted him a decade ago.
FIT OF THE WEEK: Patty Mills
Every week, we’ll pick one Aussie or Aussie-adjacent hooper who has put together the fit of the week.
In honour of Patty Mills’ trade from the Utah Jazz to the Los Angeles Clippers, this week we’ve chosen Mills fit at the Sundance Film Festival, stepping out in the Bottega Veneta tiger pants, along with a leather jacket and leather boots to fit it out.
Related: Peter Brown reveals his greatest basketball sneakers of all-time
About the Author
Jed Wells is a basketball, fashion and culture writer based out of Sydney, Australia, with a keen interest on the sneaker industry both on and off the court. He is still waiting for his own signature shoe.
