Long before the WNBA was even founded, Nike did something that no one was thinking about: putting the face and name of a female basketball player on their shoe. With Sheryl Swoopes leading the group, sixteen WNBA players have had the honor of launching a signature shoe line. But no launch has been as anticipated as the one for Iowa’s generational talent, Caitlin Clark.

With the Indiana point guard dropping easter eggs now and then, her head coach had to come forward and reveal what she thinks of the entire thing.

“It’s really cool. I had a pair of Sheryl Swoopes when they came out, and I think that was really the first signature shoe that was available,” Stephanie White said ahead of their Toronto Tempo matchup tonight. “And to now see how many women have those shoes and the crossover is crazy.

“You see the Sabrina’s on the NBA side all the time. I’m sure Caitlin wants her shoe to do that as well. It’s in being able to be a part of the process. I don’t know what the process is like for her, but I can imagine being able to try-out different styles and see what works for you.

“At the end of the day, it’s no longer men’s shoes and women’s shoes, it basketball shoes. That’s a pretty cool concept, to be where we are in the world and to be able to just have a pair of sneakers, regardless of whether it’s men’s or women’s.”

Represented by a player like Caitlin Clark, who is known for high basketball IQ, Nike has certainly not pulled plugs in continuing their technology-forward designs.

“Obviously I’m pretty picky about what I wear. I’m not going to say exactly what [the tech] is, but it’ll get people excited,” Clark teased the technology behind the project on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, this New Year’s Eve. “The technology that we’re going to put into it isn’t anything that they’ve ever put into a basketball shoe before.”

Sabrina Ionescu’s shoes also used a specific technology that helped them become the most favorite shoes for multiple years, even among NBA players. And White said it right, Clark’s shoes just might be right up there, too.

But she has upped the ante as she continues to drop hints, with the latest one coming on Tuesday itself.

In a pregame fit-check video posted by the Indiana Fever, Clark arrived wearing a royal blue suit and several friendship bracelets. It was a not-so-subtle way to entice everyone. And, of course, the self-proclaimed Swiftie had to drop hints in the Easter egg style.

You see, she rarely stops to explain what she is wearing in the tunnel, but tonight, she had a complete pregame fit-check video. Her royal blue suit was a balance between her business mindset against the Toronto Tempo and the colorway she has apparently selected for her first shoes. Then, following the Taylor Swift trend, she wore several friendship bracelets hiding secrets — one of them read “Caitlin1,” while another displayed the date “10-01-26.”

Connecting the dots wasn’t hard: It is expected that Caitlin 1’s will be the official name of her first signature shoe, with October 1, 2026, allegedly set as its release date. But the clues didn’t stop there.

The 24-year-old also changed her Instagram handle to “Caitlin1” and updated her profile picture to what appears to be a close-up of the unique outsole material used in the upcoming shoe. The image features a blue textured surface made up of many tiny “C” letters with dual-layered white-and-blue Nike swooshes.

The shoe has been quietly building toward this moment since her rookie season in the WNBA, when she signed an eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike in April 2024. She officially announced in August 2025 that she would be receiving a signature product from the brand. Eventually, she unveiled her signature logo featuring a pair of interlocking “C’s.”

According to KicksFinder, they are expected to retail for $140 in adult unisex sizing, $115 for grade-school sizing, and $105 for preschool sizing.

Caitlin Clark currently wears Nike’s player-exclusive Kobe sneakers on the court for Indiana. But considering everything she has done for the game, it was only a matter of time before Nike handed her a signature shoe of her own. And as they plan a drop in the holiday season, we already know they are going to be one-of-a-kind shoes for one-of-a-kind player.