Video Breakdown:
- 0:00 Intro
- 1:15 Racial Breakdown of the WNBA and NBA
- 5:17 Racial Breakdown of WNBA and NBA All-Stars 23
- 6:59 Talent or Popularity?
- 10:55 Instagram Followers
- 11:40 New Balance enters Women’s Hoops
- 12:31 Diversity at Sneaker Brands
- 13:20 Who Deserves a Signature?
- 14:40 Amazing Women Don’t have Signatures
- 16:16 Wrap-Up
In a post like this, which can be seen as divisive and confrontational by those who don’t like difficult dialogue, it’s important to get directly to the discussion instead of building an #archwritingprompt to move you towards your own examination. Both the NBA and WNBA share similar statistics according to the site Statista. The NBA is 71.8% Black and 17.4% White. The WNBA is 70% Black and 18.9% White. The NBA has an abundance of signature sneakers with the majority of the athletes being Black, with only Luka as the sole European with a signature sneaker under the major sneaker companies. Are there more deserving White athletes who should have sneakers in the NBA? The Joker possibly, but of the All-Stars in 2023 the other two European (White) players were Lauri Markkanen and Domantas Sabonis. Maybe in a few years Austin Reaves of the Lakers could earn a signature sneaker, but it’s not likely. The signature sneaker count in the NBA makes sense by the numbers. There are more Black athletes in the league and more who are All-Stars.
When comparing the WNBA, the numbers are very similar to the NBA, but the signature sneakers aren’t the same. Both the NBA and WNBA have 4 ‘White’ players out of 24 who were All-Stars. If Candace Parker is removed from the equation of signature basketball sneakers in the WNBA, the signatures in women’s basketball are exclusively White players. Candace Parker is aligned with the ACE basketball shoe, but adidas also has a soccer boot series named ACE. When Parker retires the basketball model can conveniently be disassociated, although Candace’s nickname is Ace. This isn’t the case with her White counterparts:
- Breanna Stewart has the Puma Stewie
- Sabrina Ionescu has the Nike Sabrina
- Elena Delle Donne has the Nike Air Deldon
In the past the distribution of signature sneakers in the WNBA was very similar to the NBA with Rebecca Lobo as the Luka in the bunch from the 90s. The numbers are not the same anymore. Is it critical for signature sneakers to coincide with the racial breakdown of the WNBA? Of course not. Talent and popularity are obvious reasons for why an athlete gets a signature sneaker which makes Breanna Stewart and Delle Donne natural choices for a signature as two-time MVPs. Ionescu hasn’t won MVPs. She is one of the most famous collegiate players in history and by the numbers she is more popular than her signature peers. Breanna Stewart has 304,000 followers on IG. Elena has 462,000 followers. Sabrina has 814,000 followers. Here is the interesting aspect of the discussion, Maya Moore was once the most famous player in the WNBA winning multiple championships, and All-Star MVPs and she never had a signature sneaker. Maya’s success can be compared to A’ja Wilson, who has 704,000 followers on IG. Nike/Jordan Brand never gave Maya a signature sneaker and they haven’t given A’ja a signature although she has the major accomplishment of being a multiple MVP winner and is one of the few players in league history to win the DPOY in the same year as the MVP.
There are fewer teams and athletes in the WNBA. This means the signature sneaker count will probably never be as high as the NBA. Possibly this post is looking for a problem where there isn’t one. Under Armour has signed a host of women to their company. They only have two signature athletes in basketball with Steph and Embiid. adidas may be the brand who needs to make a move as Candace Parker is nearing the end of an amazing career and they don’t have anyone as a replacement. As viewership and interest in the WNBA is growing adidas could find itself missing a vital aspect in marketing for hoops. Nike may be the culprit here. The brand on two occasions overlooked Black women athletes in the WNBA to give White women athletes signature sneakers. The Deldon is performing poorly and is discounted on the site to 42 bucks. Puma should be questioned as well since Skyler Diggins led the charge in Puma reentering basketball and she has an amazing 1 million followers, but no signature sneaker. New Balance isn’t really moving towards the WNBA in a major way, but they did just sign their first women’s hooper to an NIL deal. Guess what race she is?
Ultimately, the question of why Black women aren’t getting signature sneakers may have to do with the racial breakdown inside of sneaker companies. There has long been a discussion on diversity at sneaker brands. If there aren’t Black voices inside of the companies advocating for athletes, then athletes being overlooked will continue. Think about this, Serena Williams has a design team at Nike, but never got a signature sneaker with her name as the title. Over the last decade the Black women athletes signed to Nike have been amazing, but they were never considered for signature sneakers while mediocre by comparison male athletes have been given sneakers. Allyson Felix has won more Olympic medals in track and field than any other American athlete, and she had to found her own sneaker company. Puma had Usain Bolt for years. He was their most prominent athlete, no signature. That’s not basketball so let’s finish there. Under Armour sponsors the best women’s basketball program in college hoops for the last five years (South Carolina) with multiple draft picks in the WNBA and none of those players were considered good enough. If you’re looking for a reason why Black women in the WNBA are overlooked, look at the brands.