News came out on Wednesday — Happy Air Max Day, y’all — that Nike will reportedly release two pairs of Caitlin Clark Kobe Protro PEs later this year.
Nike is set to drop Caitlin Clark’s Nike Kobe 5 and 6 Protro PEs later this year, per @brandon1an 👀
The releases are currently slated for June 1 and October 1, respectively 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/k5aiYCZYQ5
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) March 26, 2025
Now, I admit, initially I was pretty excited! It’s always good to get more Kobes, especially in the Kobe 5 and 6 Protro models, among the best-selling in the Kobe line. And it makes sense for Nike to put Caitlin Clark product out on the shelves to capitalize on her unprecedented popularity and the growth of the women’s game. Afterall, they’ve made her a centerpiece part of their “You can’t win. So win” ad campaign. We’re in a golden era for women’s hoops, from the thriving collegiate game to the new Unrivaled league to increases in media rights for the WNBA. And we’re seeing more focus on women’s hoopers as endorsers as well, with A’ja Wilson set to drop her A’ja One on May 6, which will have her join Brianna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu as players in the W with their own signature sneaker, with Clark and Angel Reese to follow. But then I saw a tweet from Move insoles co-founder and NBA agent Nate Jones that gave me pause.
By far the biggest/most box office athlete in the women’s game having 2 PEs for another signature line instead of her own signature line is exhibit A of why Nike is a mess. Caitlin is lightning in a bottle. You expedite a signature! https://t.co/nlYbVY8CQX
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) March 26, 2025
It’s hard to argue his point here. I know designing and producing a signature basketball sneaker takes time, but we’ve seen quick turnarounds before. Shaq’s first sneaker with Reebok, the Shaq Attaq, was designed in a very tight window to make its debut on the court with the Big Diesel at the start of his rookie campaign with the Magic in October 1992. Reebok, famously, also already had a sneaker designed to show Allen Iverson when they were wooing the Answer back in 1996. Hell, Nike had a prototype to show Michael Jordan in 1984, as depicted in the movie Air. So, it becomes hard to argue that it should take Nike years to develop a signature sneaker for Clark, or that it took as long as it did to develop one for Wilson, for that matter.
It does connect back to a central question in the sneaker industry right now — has Nike lost its mojo and can it get it back? After a boom in the pandemic era, the sneaker bubble has burst. After churning out colorway after colorway of the Air Jordan 1 and the Nike Dunk in the early 2020s, those models are now sitting on store shelves and even hitting outlets. Even classics like the Air Jordan 3 Black Cement and Air Jordan 11 Legend Blue aren’t guaranteed instant sellouts at the moment. And Nike is definitely feeling the heat, replacing its CEO last year, facing questions about an “innovation problem” and reporting during its quarterly earnings call last week that the brand is expecting to post its steepest revenue decline in five years. Think about it, when was the last NEW Nike design to really take off? It’s been a minute.
So when you put all this information together, it becomes easy to see this plan to release Clark Kobe PEs and agree with Jones. It feels lazy and suggests there is a level of institutional rot that could spell long-term trouble for the longtime sportswear leader. Michael Jordan hasn’t played in an NBA game in over 20 years; his name alone won’t move sneakers forever. Fewer and fewer people buying his Air Jordan retros can say they’ve seen him play in an NBA game, and even fewer can say they saw him play at his peak with the Bulls. That’s a problem for Nike. Personally I love MJ (he’ll always be my GOAT) and I became a sneakerhead from watching him as a kid and being drawn to the shoes on his feet. Who is that athlete and what are those sneakers for today’s generation?
That’s the problem that Nike faces right now. Clark certainly could be that athlete. Wilson, too. Nike has a stable of prominent basketball players — Devin Booker, Victor Wembanyama as well as Jayson Tatum, Luka Dončić and others on the Jordan side. But none of their signature models have become an indisputable hit. Nike NEEDS to come up with a NEW hit, something that transcends the basketball court and becomes part of the larger culture the way Air Jordans did in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s well and good to celebrate your past, but you have to look to the future as well. And now more than at any point since the company-defining pursuit of Jordan, the future looks a bit hazy for Nike. If the Swoosh isn’t careful, someone might chase the brand from behind to deliver a LeBron James-esque rejection.
