After Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu is the highest-paid player in the WNBA. A major reason behind that is her Nike deal.

Her Sabrina line has become one of the most trusted sneakers in basketball. In fact, it was the second most-worn shoe in the NBA, right behind the Kobe 6. But that’s not the only sign of how far Nike Sabrina has spread.

This past weekend, USC guard Jazzy Davidson debuted her Nike Sabrina 3 Player Edition in a custom colorway. The moment clearly meant a lot to her.

As she herself puts it better, “It was just like a dream come true,...A lot of people dream of having their own PE shoe. And to have it be this model—the Sabrina 3—is really surreal. It’s one of my favorite basketball shoes.” She added, “I’m super excited to debut these shoes. I love the design. I love the model. I can’t wait.”

Well, Jazzy wearing the shoe so early in her college career shows just how normalised the shoe has become at the NCAA level. And it didn’t stop there. On the very same day, the Sabrina 3 showed up on an NFL field. Justin Herbert wore them as custom cleats.

Also, USC isn’t the only school embracing Ionescu’s signature line. Sabrina gifted the entire Iowa Hawkeyes a pair of Nike Sabrina 1s ahead of their Final Four appearance last year. At Duke University, the latest women’s basketball Player Exclusive is also a Nike Sabrina 3, created specifically for the Blue Devils.

Those Duke PEs feature a full black engineered mesh upper with thick stitched support. They’re contrasted by shiny, diamond-plated Duke blue Swooshes. The iconic Duke “D” logo sits on the tongue. Clearly, Sabrina’s line has earned widespread trust across the sport.

But where did it all begin?

Sabrina Ionescu’s bond with the Oregon Ducks remains one of the strongest examples of how a collegiate connection can shape the game. That’s why she’s still celebrated at the university today.

She recorded her first triple-double just three weeks into her freshman season. By the end of that year, she had four—more than any freshman in NCAA history. That was the moment the journey truly took off.

Last fall, Ionescu paid tribute to her alma mater when Nike released the Sabrina 2 “Oregon Duck” Player Edition. It was a full-circle moment, and a reminder of where it all began. Now, the Sabrina 2 and Sabrina 3 ranked in the top 10 league-wide for minutes played.

Written by

Yashika Dutta

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu