A year after she became the first WNBA player to sign with Converse, Washington Mystics point guard and champion Natasha Cloud is set to release her first player exclusive shoe. She’ll debut the Converse All Star BB Evo in her “Petal to the Metal” colorway, which is the brand’s first PE with a WNBA player, and the sneaker will be available to the public on June 3 on Converse.com and at various retailers.
The shoe is inspired by Cloud’s rose tattoo, with the flower appearing on the heel of each shoe. The design features three colors: Pink Foam, Chambray Blue, and Spring Green.
“I wanted the shoe to signify looking to new horizons, collective growth and regenerating oneself,” Cloud said in a release.
In 2020, the guard opted out of the WNBA’s bubble season in Bradenton Fla., to focus on fighting for social justice. In doing so, she forfeited most of her $115,000 salary, which Converse covered.
“There are a lot of factors that led to this decision, but the biggest one is that I am more than an athlete,” Cloud said in a statement last June. “I have a responsibility to myself, to my community and to my future children to fight for something that is much bigger than myself and the game of basketball. I will instead continue the fight for social reform, because until Black lives matter, all lives can’t matter.”
Cloud’s shoe is one of hopefully a number of WNBA-inspired sneakers to come. In May, Puma announced a deal with two-time champion Breanna Stewart which will include her own signature shoe. In 25 years, just nine WNBA players have debuted a signature shoes, with Candace Parker’s with Adidas as the most recent over a decade ago.
