Paige Bueckers has become the first NIL player to launch a Nike Player Edition sneaker, with the upcoming Paige Bueckers GT Hustle 3 set to be released on December 7, 2024. The Nike website teased the silhouette on December 2, 2024, and described the collaboration as a way to:
"Propel her (Bueckers) performance during the final season of her illustrious collegiate career, leveraging Nike’s best basketball innovations in a silhouette that maximizes energy return from tip-off to buzzer."
Bueckers, fondly called Bucket by fans, also announced the collaboration via her Instagram page on December 2, 2024. For the promotion visuals, the athlete posed while twirling a basketball on her finger, with her feet displaying the sneakers. Other slides showed Bueckers in the court and closeup images of her sneakers. Fans reacted to the post with one saying:
“You are really the “IT” Girl.”
Others praised the colorway of the silhouette, describing it as dope and different.
Some fans jokingly stated that they’d purchase the shoes even though they weren’t athletes.
Other netizens expressed that they’d cop the kicks as soon they dropped.
“It’s surreal to have this Player Edition model": Paige Bueckers on her first sneaker model with Nike
According to Nike’s press release on December 2, 2024, The 23-year-old player for the UConn Huskies stated that it was motivating having to wear her shoes. She added:
“I grew up wearing Nikes — all the signature shoes — so it’s surreal to have this Player Edition model. I just want to show out in it.”
Buecker’s edition of the G.T Hustle 3 features a forefoot Air Zoom unit aided by a sewn-in Air Zoom Strobel that creates a double-stacked layer of Air underfoot for energy storage and return. The soft heel and higher offset enhance heel-to-toe transition, while the Radial knit upper promises zonal containment and support.
The sneakers also come in an eye-catching design, Buecker’s favorite colors, baby blue and lavender purple line, the Radial Knit upper, while the colors of the University of Connecticut and her hometown in Minnesota dominate the left tongue.
An embroidered bucket, an ode to Buecker’s nickname, adorns the right tongue. A text bubble of a message her father sends to her before every game which reads, Be You, Be Great, is embossed on the left heel.
Paige Bueckers described the shoe’s design as special, adding:
“This is the perfect colorway for me: I love baby blue and lavender, and the Radial Knit makes me feel fly. My favorite detail is the message from my dad, and the tribute to both of my homes is so meaningful for my first Player Edition model.”
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The Nike G.T. Hustle 3 Paige Bueckers Player Edition is set to be released on December 7, 2024, on the SNKRS app and other retail outlets.
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