Nike’s Subtle Disagreement With A’ja Wilson Revealed as WNBA Star Talks Signature Shoe A’One’s Key Details

“It’s something that you dream of as a kid, like, ‘Oh, I get my shoe. Oh, my God, this is it.’” A’ja Wilson has openly shared her excitement about her upcoming signature shoe deal with Nike. Although her signature line, “A’One,” is set to release in the spring next year, it’s a reminder of the lengthy process involved in creating a personalized shoe for an athlete. Now, Wilson revealed some details about the process, showcasing a key difference in perspective between her and Nike during the development.

Recently, the Las Vegas Aces star made an appearance on the Roommates Show, where she discussed her highly anticipated signature shoe line. The Las Vegas Aces star emphasized that it was a long process and no one could understand the efforts it demanded. It even left her in splits about the approach she wanted to take in terms of considering her own game, basing the model off her experience, or thinking about others.

She admitted about it when asked about which direction she went in and revealed that it was Nike who pushed her towards the former while the consumers was what she was thinking of.

“It was a little bit of everything honestly. I took it into kind of thoughts and there been times where people at Nike were like ‘no, A’ja, we need you to think about you’ cuz I was constantly thinking about the consumer like I’m like what do” stated Wilson. This meant the 3x MVP found herself balancing her own preferences with the brand’s suggestions, constantly weighing how to satisfy both her vision and the customers’ desires.

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“I kind of mixed that [costumers’ needs] with my style of play as well. I just wanted something that was going to be comfortable, but also hopefully something that you haven’t really seen too much of,” she adds.

For more than a year, Wilson has worked side by side with Nike’s team of innovation, product and design experts to create a signature collection inspired by her distinctive style, incredible performance and unapologetic realness.

“From my logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we’ve worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style,” Wilson said back in May when the signature deal was announced. A month after the announcement, Nike added to the excitement by unveiling the logo for A’ja Wilson’s “A’One” signature line. However, the exact release date remains a mystery, keeping fans on edge.

Wilson, on Roommates Show, also admitted she wasn’t entirely sure of the exact release date but confirmed her signature shoe will definitely hit the shelves next spring. While she shared surface level details and didn’t reveal the dates, her comments also hints that she would not like to reveal the details and ruin all the buzz and curiosity.

“There are certain things that I just cannot share because I want it, if it’s not perfect I don’t want to share it because then you’re gonna be like ‘well A’ja what the hell is this’. So like people were just like ‘what’s going on if you knew all this time why didn’t..’ I’m like why would I tell a random Twitter user ‘hey shoe’s about to drop,’ like no, like it’s not it’s like ‘just don’t tell anyone it’s just between me and you’ but it’s just like people didn’t understand that side of it,” the reigning MVP mentioned on Roommates Show.

It’s clear that A’ja Wilson is keeping tight-lipped about the details of her signature shoe, even if she knows them. She has a solid reason for this—wanting to maintain the excitement and mystery around the release. In fact, when news of her Nike Pink Calm slide leaked in August, she expressed her disappointment, clearly preferring to control the timing of such announcements.

“Ok ok who’s the mole???? 😵‍💫🫣”  Wilson playfully responded to the leak of her pink slides, tweeting. As the anticipation builds for the release of her signature shoe, A’ja Wilson’s careful approach to keeping details under wraps only adds to the excitement, making the “A’One” debut next spring even more thrilling.