Following Sophie Cunningham’s pointing gesture at DeWanna Bonner on Jun 22, when she stepped in to defend her teammate Caitlin Clark, her popularity reached new heights. From the internet turning the snapshot into a viral meme, to the White House using it in one of their posts, Cunningham embraced the attention. So when Adidas first announced on July 10 that the Fever guard would get her own exclusive colorway of one of their sneakers, the timing felt perfect.

However, even Cunningham herself didn’t anticipate just how many fans were eagerly awaiting the July 24 release date of the Adidas Crazy Energy Sophie Cunningham PE. OutKick’s John Root tracked the launch closely and posted, “By 9 am ET, Sophie Cunningham’s Adidas shoes are almost completely sold out on adidas.com.” Just an hour later, the rest of the stock was gone.

“As of 10 am ET, Sophie Cunningham’s Adidas shoes are completely SOLD OUT in both men’s & women’s sizes.👏 She’s a superstar,” Root wrote in a follow-up post, which Sophie Cunningham herself re-posted on X, thanking her fans.

“You guys really showed up! Nothing but genuine love for y’all💕,” the 29-year-old wrote in her caption. However, Cunningham was also actively engaged in promoting her ever-exclusive colorway.

In addition to social media promotion, she also made in-person appearances to celebrate the release, with one notable moment coming the same day, between 1 pm and 3 pm CT in Romeoville, Illinois. She collaborated with a Hibbett store, with the company posting on Instagram to announce a fan meet-and-greet, as well as the shoe drop.

“Not to point fingers, but you should be there. Meet Sophie and celebrate the launch of the Crazy Energy ‘Sophie Cunningham’ PE, the shoe for hoopers who don’t wait to be chosen. Bag your pair, take the spotlight, and Take Yours.” read the caption.

The success of her player exclusive colorway comes at a time when the WNBPA have distanced themselves from the Fever star’s viral meme. The WNBPA prevented their licensees, including 2K, Panini, and several others, from using the gesture for their official merch.

The Players’ Association termed the gesture as “derogatory” because it originated from the oncourt confrontation of two of their players. However, they also said that Cunningham was free to use it under her own Name, Image and Likeness rights.

And that’s exactly what she has been doing. In fact, even John Root uploaded images of Cunningham’s pointing meme while announcing that the shoe was sold out.

The shoe itself launched for $120 on adidas.com. It features a gradient design on the upper, adding bright pink starting from the toe and fading into white at the heel. There are also orange accents throughout the midsole and outsole, with shades of light blue visible on the side mesh panels. The three stripes logo for adidas can be seen in light blue on the tongue and heel.

Since she separated from Nike in 2022 after beginning her career with them, this is Cunningham’s first exclusive with Adidas, and it could be an indication of what might happen when her teammate drops her exclusive sneakers later this year.

Why Sophie Cunningham’s sellout could mean great news for Caitlin Clark

The overwhelmingly positive response to Sophie Cunningham’s shoe could provide a glimpse into how fast Caitlin Clark’s exclusive sneaker launch could look on October 1, 2026.

Both Nike and Clark continue to build the hype for the Nike Caitlin 1, which has been a long time coming. Fans had been eagerly awaiting an exclusive shoe for Clark ever since she signed the reportedly historic multi-million dollar deal with Nike in 2024.

However, it took the brand over a year just to launch the logo in August 2025. Then finally, in June of this year, the brand unveiled the first images of the Caitlin Clark 1, and unlike Cunningham’s collab, Clark’s shoes have been designed exclusively for her from the ground up.

That means while impatient fans could’ve gotten their hands on the standard Adidas Crazy Energy shoes just to get a feel for the shoe, no one other than Clark knows how the Caitlin 1 performs, and she has regularly been teasing more colorways of the exclusive Nike shoes by posting about them on social media and wearing them during games.

So if Cunningham’s shoes can sell out in less than a day, it may be safe to assume that Clark’s exclusive shoe will make a much bigger splash. After all, CC has already made history with her jersey sales. As per data from the Fanatics store, Clark’s jersey ranked as the second-highest-selling jersey in 2024, ranking second only to Stephen Curry’s.

That being said, with the smashing success of her player exclusive colorway, it may not be surprising to see Adidas announce a proper exclusive for Sophie Cunningham sometime in the future.