Caitlin Clark's Signature Is Here: Nike Lift the Curtain on the Caitlin 1

Having signed the richest deal ever negotiated for a women’s hooper just a few beats after becoming 2024’s number one draft pick, Caitlin Clark has seen her star rise at a staggering clip.

We all knew her contract with the Swoosh included a signature shoe, but Clark spent at least two years rocking Kobe Protro models on the hardwood before finally announcing the Caitlin 1 in July of this year. The Indiana Fever guard has been teasing a few colourways since then… and today, Nike have dropped the hammer on the full set of sneakers to land across the next few months. Give it up for the inaugural six-stack of Caitlin 1s!

Clark was frank in her description of the Caitlin 1 project’s aim during Nike’s announcement. ‘We’re trying to make the best shoe there’s ever been,’ she says. ‘It checks every box.’ Well, let’s dive into those boxes.

The Caitlin 1 is specifically designed to meet Clark’s exacting demands on the paint, amplifying the quality of her range, speed, and spontaneity while giving her a bigger advantage of performance from any point on the court. The model introduces a brand-new upper called the Nike Opticast, which brings lightness and locked support, while an inventive cast polyurethane node system is spread across various heights of the build, designed to diminish drag and boost energy efficiency. An Air Zoom Turbo unit in the forefoot joins a Cushlon midsole for serenely controlled movement, bringing wearers the responsiveness, lock-down, and haptic court-feel which Clark’s game requires.

The model also comes in a full range of youth sizing, but they’re not just shrunken versions of the adult pairs – they’re specifically redesigned for kids’ play, helping to enhance their range of motion and flexibility as they build their skills. It’s a detail that’s especially important to Clark. ‘I hope every boy and girl put this shoe on and hope that they can have a signature one day, or that they can go on the court and make 35-foot threes,’ she says. ‘I hope this gives them that sense of belief and that sense of confidence to achieve whatever they want to.’

Elsewhere, the Nike Opticast nodes assemble a series of Cs on the model’s lateral panel, and the medial features a pattern tessellating the number 2 – Clark’s jersey number. The tongue is graced with Clark’s signature logo, the sockliner is crafted with a cement-inspired look as a nod to the court in the driveway of Clark’s childhood home, and the outsole is sprinkled with missives that salute the star’s discipline and self-belief: ‘Shoot More Threes’, ‘From Anywhere’, and ‘It Was Never a Long Shot.’

‘A lot of thought and time has gone into this shoe,’ she says. ‘I never thought I would have my own signature shoe, and now that I do, it’s pretty special. I can’t wait to share this moment with so many people.’

There are six colourways on the calendar for the rest of 2026. The ‘Caitlin Blue’ and ‘Warning Code’ will land on October 1, the neon-pink ‘Midnight Fever’ is set for October 14, the muted ‘Cave Stone’ arrives November 3, the ‘Ice Cold’ brings the chill on November 24, and the juicy ‘Purple Venom’ will arrive on December 12. Keep it locked for all the fresh info on the Caitlin 1 as it comes in.

Want to know more about which WNBA stars are rocking signature shoes on-court right now? Head here.