Kicks

Caitlin Clark Says "Kobe Has The Best Shoes. It's Not Even Close"

Caitlin Clark says Kobe Bryant has the best basketball shoes.

Michael Ehrlich

Caitlin Clark wears the Nike Kobe 6.
Caitlin Clark wears the Nike Kobe 6. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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Earlier this week, Caitlin Clark made waves in the sneaker community. The WNBA rookie sensation debuted her first player-exclusive colorway of the Nike Kobe 5 Protro to rave reviews from fans. It is a rare honor for a rookie to receive a player-exclusive colorway, but Clark has made a career out of defying the odds.

The unreleased black and yellow colorway is designed to speak to both Clark's past as an Iowa Hawkeye legend and her present role as the Indiana Fever's star player, in just her first season in the W.

First signing with Nike in a historic NIL deal at Iowa, Clark is now expected to earn a multi-year, signature sneaker deal of her own in the near future. She joins the likes of current WNBA stars Sabrina Ionescu (Nike), Breanna Stewart (Puma) with A'ja Wilson (Nike) to come next year.

In the meantime, Clark continues her tradition of wearing multiple models and colorways of Bryants' past signature sneakers. What first began as routine during her collegiate career with Iowa has crossed over to the pros, and made Clark the unofficial face of the Nike Kobe sneaker line.

So it is no surprise that during WNBA All-Star media availability she raved about the signature line. “I’m a Kobe person, everybody knows that. It's the best shoe and it's not even close." Clark shared, while detailing her favorite colorways thus far.

Clark rattled off the names of some of her favorite colorways; the Nike Kobe 5 'Bruce Lee,' Nike Kobe 6 'Del Sol,' and the Nike Kobe 6 'Grinch.' All of which are general release colorways that sold out immediately online. Fans hoping to buy Bryant's retro Nike sneakers must pay resale prices online.

Clark has taken the W by storm as a rookie - both on and off the court - averaging over 17 points and 8 assists a game, while igniting league attendance, TV viewership and merchandise sales that the league has never seen before.

Snubbed for Team USA's roster for the Paris Olympics, Clark is using the break to recover and motivate herself even more for the future. After the Olympics are complete, Clark and the Fever return to action on August 16 against the Mercury.

Fans can follow Kicks On SI for all their footwear news from the WNBA and the rest of the sports world.

Further Reading: The Nike Kobe Protro 4 "Gold Medal" drops on August 5 for $190.

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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