Sabrina Ionescu & Breanna Stewart Speak on Signature Shoes in WNBA

Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart agree that more WNBA players deserve a signature sneaker.

Sabrina Ionescu's first signature sneaker - the Nike Sabrina 1. / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

Women's basketball has never been in a better place. Sure, the television ratings have been through the roof, and there are more stars than ever. However, a true indication that the sport has finally arrived is that it has begun dominating the mainstream sports conversation (although it is littered with plenty of bad faith arguments by the usual characters).

One of the main debates within the sport and the footwear industry is which players deserve a signature sneaker. Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark is nearing an eight-figure signature deal with Nike and is poised to become one of the select few players in the league with her own line.

With Elena Delle Donne (Nike) stepping away from the game and Candace Parker (adidas) retiring, that leaves only two active WNBA players with signature lines. Coincidentally, both play for the New York Liberty. Sabrina Ionescu launched her first sneaker with Nike last year, and Breanna Stewart unveiled her third sneaker with PUMA earlier this month.

Khristina Williams of Girls Talk Sports TV recently asked Ionescu and Stewart about the status of signature lines in the WNBA. Both players agreed that more players deserve their own signature hoop shoes, with Stewart giving a ringing endorsement of a specific player worthy of her own line.

Breanna Stewart's third signature sneaker - the PUMA Stewie 3. / PUMA

Ionescu said, "I think there's a change, and that's starting to understand that it starts with representation and to be able to do that in the W. There's kind of a turning tide and understanding that women deserve to have a shoe, women of color deserve to have a shoe, we all have a story to tell, and we all have people to inspire. I'm really excited to see how that's going to continue to grow."

Ionescu continued, "They understand they can have a signature shoe one day because they see all these W players having one. So, hopefully, brands can continue to double down on that investment and understand that it's time to do that for us and this league and other sports as well."

Stewart said, "There is no question that A'Ja (Wilson) should have a signature shoe. For what she's done for this league and how she continues to build herself on and off the court. As a friend of hers, as a competitor of hers, I'm really hoping that she gets that because she deserves it, and also, there are a lot of people throughout this league who deserve it. I feel like we are moving at a snail's pace with the signatures in the woman's side."

Basketball fans and sneakerheads could not be more happy to have this discussion. The WNBA is full of exciting players with personalities that are easy to market on a global scale. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's FanNation Kicks for all your sneaker news from around the sports world.

Further Reading: PUMA unveils Breanna Stewart's third signature sneaker - the PUMA Stewie 3.