Paige Bueckers has been in the spotlight since she arrived at UConn, and the 23-year-old is looking to finish here collegiate career off in style, by delivering the Huskies their first national championship since 2016 before she goes on to be the expected No. 1 pick by the Dallas Wings in the WNBA Draft. Eight years isn’t a long title drought for most programs, but for UConn, it’s the longest they’ve gone without a national title since they won their first in 1995.
As she looks to lead UConn back to the promised land, Bueckers will do so in her own player edition design of the Nike GT Hustle 3, as Bueckers becomes the first college athlete to design a sneaker as part of an NIL deal with Nike. The sneaker giant unveiled the baby blue and lavender colorway Bueckers designed on Monday (using her two favorite colors), and that colorway will go on sale to the public on the SNKRS app and select retail locations on December 7.
On the right sneaker’s tongue are the area codes for UConn and Bueckers’ hometown of Edina, Minnesota, while the left features a PB Buckets logo, as a play on her nickname. On the heels are her name (with Buckets, scratched over top) and the “Be you. Be great” message she gets from her father before every game.
