UCLA Star Rice Makes NIL History with Jordan Brand Shoes

Bruins' super sophomore is first college athlete with their own player edition shoe design

UCLA women's basketball sophomore Kiki Rice continues to make history with her Jordan Brand NIL partnership that she signed a season ago.

After becoming the brand's first NIL athlete, she now is the first to receive her own player edition shoe design. Ahead of the Bruins' highly anticipated matchup against No. 4 Stanford, Rice shared her Air Jordan 38 Low “Cherry Blossom" via an Instagram collab post with UCLA women's basketball.

The Jordan sneakers are inspired by her hometown of DC and have a white base with a pink and UCLA blue finish. She said on Instagram that she's excited for her teammates and coaches to wear these with her in the near future.

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UCLA's women's basketball team is the No. 7 ranked team in the nation and Rice is a huge reason why. They are 17-3 on the season with a 6-3 record in the Pac-12. 

The 5-foot-11 Rice is from Bethesda, Maryland, and has transitioned well to the college game. In her freshman season, she averaged 11.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, three assists, and 1.2 steals. Her sophomore season has seen her improve her game with averages of 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.9 steals.