Caitlin Clark debuts Kobe Bryant shoes honoring her dog Bella

This isn’t the first time the Nike athlete has collaborated with the brand to make her very own Kobe colorway. Last month, Clark debuted the Nike Kobe 5 Protro 5 ‘Rooke of the Year’ colorway during the Fever’s home opener.

The Nike Kobe 5 Protro are retros of the original sneaker that Kobe Bryant himself wore for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2008 NBA season. It was originally re-released in 2019 and has featured multiple colorways in the six years since.

Clark signed a highly publicized 8-year, $28 million deal with Nike ahead of her WNBA career last year. With that comes several amenities, and her own signature shoe is one of them. While Clark now has her own colorways, it’s only a matter of time before she debuts her very own sneaker.

Nike CEO Elliott Hill confirmed just this in an interview in January with Fortune, noting that she has been inside the Nike offices working on her logo and shoe design. Brianna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and A’ja Wilson already have signature shoes on the market, and Angel Reese is set to release her own sneaker with Reebok soon.

Saturday will be the first time Clark is back in the Fever’s lineup in five games after suffering a quad strain during Indiana’s 90-88 loss to the Liberty on May 24. She’s been forced to miss the first three games of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup with the injury, and comes back just in time to face the undefeated Liberty.

Because of Clark’s injury, she’s only been able to play four games so far this WNBA season. The Fever star guard is averaging 19.0 points, 9.3 assists and 6.0. rebounds to start her second season in the association. Coming off her extended stay off the court, Clark will look to return to form swiftly against the reigning WNBA champions.