“I don’t even think I watched the game. I was really just watching his feet,” WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu spoke about the NBA stalwart Jrue Holiday. During a game between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks in October 2023 when JHolla jumped to make a layup, all Ionescu could see were his feet. Notably, the 34-year-old had become the first NBA star to don Ionescu’s Sabrina 1s, which marked the first unisex collection by Nike. And Holiday instantly endorsed them by wearing them during the media day and preseason games.

Next, other NBA players namely Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Jordan Clarkson, DaQuan Jeffries, and Corey Kispert sported the freshly released pairs, making them popular within no time. Though the NBA icons deserve credit for endorsing the shoes, equal applause goes to Nike and Ionescu for carving such a beautiful sneaker, a deal of which was made in 2020.

Sabrina Ionescu’s multi-year deal with Nike

2020 was a special year for the No. 20 of the Oregon Ducks. In a game against the Stanford Cardinal, Ionescu became the first NCAA star to inch to 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in a career, which helped her sweep major awards like the AP Player of the Year. As Ionescu’s popularity shot through the roof, the New York Liberty drafted as the number one pick the 3× WNBA All-Star. And just days post her magnificent achievement, Nike signed her on a multi-year deal.

Ionescu took to Instagram to announce the deal by revealing that she was “excited to take the next step and join the Nike family!” She posted a picture from her college in the Ducks jersey while handling the ball like a professional chef would handle knives. Looks like there was definitely something cooking. Though the exact financials of the deal weren’t disclosed, some reports estimated that the multi-year agreement was worth $24 million. According to ESPN, it is surely much higher than “the value of recent WNBA Finals MVP-level player deals.”

Though an ankle injury hurt her chances of playing all the games in her first town years in the W, Ionescu was occasionally seen in endorsements and videos filmed for Nike. Cut to 2023, the company announced her exclusive sneaker pair the Sabrina 1s (along with a complementary apparel collection), which, as mentioned, was the first unisex pair by Nike. An exhilarated Ionescu announced the same on her Instagram handle through a post that had various quotes of the 2023 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Champion and pictures depicting the reactions of various people to her signature shoe line.

Highlighting Ionescu’s Romanian background in their design, the Sabrina 1s, as per the star’s admission, were for the “Dream Seekers” of the world priced around $125. The high-performance sneakers were a “dream come true” for Ionescu, who hadn’t imagined that she would come so far with her balling skills. The sneakers are sold in nine standard colorways apart from having the option of customizing the shoes. All in all, going by their design and sales, the Sabrina 1s were a massive success, which hinted Nike to play the game again.

Nike releases Sabrina 2s and this time with more aplomb

Banking on the popularity of the Sabrina 1s, Nike launched the Sabrina 2s in June this year. Made 28 grams lighter than their predecessors, the Sabrina 2s looked to offer stability, comfort, and a unique design that much like the 1s refers to Ionescu’s background. The Sabrina 2 ‘Court Vision’ concentrated on making it the go-to sneaker for ballers.

The shoes featured exemplary cushion design and a foam base that could protect the legs during jumps. Plus, this time around, according to designer Ben Nethongkome, Ionescu had taken time to give her feedback and be more honest with it, which helped Nike immensely in designing better shoes. While a lot of comfortable shoes are not made for speed, the Sabrina 2s make sure that with a bent-over design and air zoom cushioning, the speed of the athlete is not affected.

Available at a decent price of $130, the shoes are available in four colors: cave purple, black raspberry, violet frost, and white. Furthermore, as we head to the playoffs, the Sabrina 2s are expected to be released in two more colorways (White Noise and Relentless) in October that look to commemorate the 26-year-old’s defining season as the Liberty are placed atop the table. Hopefully this time around, the Liberty will make no mistake in clinching the Championship title. Both the sneaker variations will have an ‘S’ imprinted on the tongue of the shoes, which again highlights Ionescu’s signature collection.

And much like the first edition, the Sabrina 2s are also expected to be worn by the NBA stars, once the season tips off, in the coming months. Hopefully, Ionescu will be able to enjoy her playoffs and market her sneakers well, that will get her more accolades. Till then fans can only think about the money Ionescu is making every year since the deal has already extended to more than 4 years and still the Oregon Ducks star, who started humble, continues to revel in her achievements.