Nike athlete Paige Bueckers is used to making history. And this season, she’s adding yet another first to her name, becoming the inaugural NIL athlete to design and launch a Nike Player Edition basketball sneaker.
Paige’s Nike G.T. Hustle 3 is meant to propel her 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.
Key to that performance is a forefoot Air Zoom unit and sewn-in Air Zoom strobel that create a double-stacked layer of Air underfoot for enhanced energy storage and return. The Air Zoom in the forefoot is partnered with a soft and resilient heel, along with a higher offset, to promote a smooth heel-to-toe transition. A Radial Knit upper, meanwhile, delivers zonal containment and support in a soft, lightweight and breathable package.
“It’s definitely motivating to wear your own shoe,” Paige says. “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.”
Clad in Paige’s favorite colors and rife with personalized details, the silhouette also reflects the style she brings to the game. A baby blue and lavender purple colorway draws attention to the Radial Knit upper, and the area codes for the University of Connecticut and Paige’s hometown in Minnesota intersect on the left tongue.
An embroidered bucket adorns the right tongue, and a creative play on her surname — replacing “Bueckers” with “buckets” — takes over the right heel. Opposite that display of confidence is a text bubble bearing an inspirational message Paige receives from her father before every game: “Be You, Be Great.”
“There are so many details that make this shoe special to me,” Paige says. “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.”
The creation of the G.T. Hustle 3 was led by women from the start, with female athletes comprising more than 90% of those involved in the silhouette’s testing and development, underscoring Nike’s longstanding commitments to listening to the voices of female athletes and advancing the women’s game. The Nike G.T. Hustle 3 Paige Bueckers Player Edition will be available December 7 on SNKRS and at select retail locations.
