“Made to break records” Nike did not leave any opportunity to hype up the face of their brand. When Caitlin Clark shot to fame in the NCAA, it was a no-brainer that one of the world’s biggest sports apparel companies would sign her. And they did in 2022 and extended it for the next 8 years as she entered the professional grounds. The eyes she brought to women’s basketball were unlike any other. And yet, we might have to wait until 2026-27 to wear her signature shoe, as former ESPN analyst Ethan Strauss warns.
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Jason Whitlock calls the Fever rookie the Tiger Woods of women’s basketball. Yet, the WNBA has existed since 1997, with many more talented and respected players who have continued the league’s legacy. Whitlock discusses Strauss’ recent comments on Nike apparently being afraid of fan backlash at releasing the rookie’s signature shoe before a 7-year veteran’s.
He goes back to the NCAA tournament and the WNBA draft back in April, “It wasn’t a long process of me going, ‘Hey, I think this will be over’ to ‘Holy cow, this woman is going to be the biggest star in sports. And I’m not Nike. They’re experts at this, they were able to see. Michael Jordan left North Carolina, it’s not just his size that two Centers went ahead of him. No one fully understood what he was going to be in the NBA and there’s a guy (Sonny Vaccaro) at Nike that did. Nike is supposed to be able to see those things.”
Michael Jordan, despite being considered a GOAT today, was a third overall pick in the 1984 NBA drafts. While many did not believe he could be the next best thing, Vaccaro was the one who pursued ‘His Airness’ despite his reluctant behavior to sign with the brand. Of course, today we see the Jordan brand as one of the most renowned sneakers in the world. But it all started with one person identifying the hidden gem that was Jordan. Exactly what Whitlock is asking Nike to do with the ‘generational talent.’
This year, A’ja Wilson won her 3rd MVP at 28 years old after a hugely dominant season. She set a new single-season scoring record at 1000, and Nike has announced her signature shoe to hit the shelves in 2025. And yet, Strauss asks, what about Caitlin Clark? So does Whitlock, “Why isn’t she being promoted?” He also asks about the “reasonable” deal she signed with Nike at $28 million for 8 more years.
Per reports, some Indiana Fever games averaged 1.18 million viewers across all networks, exceeding even the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama, and the 76ers. And yet, Ethan Strauss wonders, isn’t Nike hurting its own stock by giving in to some perceived social media hate it might receive if Clark gets ahead of Wilson in this respect? “Just do it,” Strauss evokes the famous tagline. Interestingly, even Angel Reese has one already.
“If you’re a Nike shareholder, that’s got to be aggravating. There was free money on the ground. Struggling Swoosh simply refused to lean down and grab it,” writes Strauss. If Wilson won the MVP, much deserved as it was, Caitlin Clark also finished 4th in the voting, the first rookie since Candace Parker to place in the top 5.
Jason Whitlock also points out, “LeBron James had his own signature shoe his rookie year. So 20 years ago, Nike was nimble enough and had vision enough to see that, ‘Hey let’s get the LeBron shoe out here, this guy’s going to be a big deal.’ They can’t do this with Caitlin Clark for some reason.”
Indeed, CC plays wearing Kobe 5s. In a previous report, Jason Whitlock has said that Clark might even surpass LeBron James if Nike does things right.
Despite LeBron James’ praise of Caitlin Clark, Jason Whitlock is skeptical of his support
LeBron James might be one of the NBA greats but like every celebrity, he has his critics. Jason Whitlock is one of them, who questioned James support after a particularly brilliant display from Caitlin Clark in Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky on Aug. 30. It wasn’t the first instance of the Lakers player supporting the W rookie, but Whitlock seemingly believes that James is just riding the hype wave.
The analyst wrote on X, “I hope CC keeps her distance from LeBron…CC is gonna sell more Nikes than LeBron. He knows it. She’s going to be a bigger icon than LeBron.” Well, only if Nike gets back on track. LeBron James signed with the sports athleisure mogul more than two decades ago, and his deal was much bigger than CC’s. With 7 years and $87 million originally, Nike signed him to a lifetime contract in 2015 for approximately $1 billion.
The endless number of sneakers since 2003 have delighted fans all over, and yet, Whitlock believes Clark can do better. Her own deal with Nike was certainly a historic signing in women’s basketball, after continuing her NIL deal from 2022.
James is at the tail-end of his career while CC has just begun. Nike has the next almost decade to get things right but fans would like it if they begin sooner rather than later. A’ja Wilson deserves all the hype she’s getting, but so does Caitlin Clark, as a large part of the W fanbase would say! So why not drop the collection already?
