Sabrina Ionescu was the first Division I basketball player to record 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds over the course of her college career, and the former Oregon Duck has added another first to her résumé.
The No. 1 draft pick will headline Nike’s new Greater Than franchise, a collection of high-performance basketball sneakers. Ionescu signed a multiyear deal with Nike last April.
The first shoe Ionescu will promote is called the GT Cut. Nike crafted the shoe with insights from a range of hoopers, including Ionescu and her Oregon teammates.
When the 23-year-old WNBA star was a senior, the Oregon Duck store and Nike released a unisex replica Ionescu jersey for $75. It sold out in less than 24 hours. She hopes to one day receive her own signature shoe.
“It’d be awesome for me to do it, or for any other player to have that platform, and have little girls showing up to basketball practice wearing a women’s shoe for once,” she said.
A report last year indicated basketball shoe sales are down for the fourth year in a row and represent less than 5% of the athletic shoe market, compared to 13% in 2014. Nike basketball’s revenue hit $1.5 billion in 2020.
