Anika Bennett
Jun 6, 2026
'We're Always Going to Support Our Own'
Empowering.
That’s how Tyla Plowden, athletic administrative coordinator at Edward Waters University, described WNBA star A’ja Wilson’s latest signature shoe, the A’Two, which made its debut in Paris on May 2.
The shoe – which features golden iridescent swooshes – comes in a vibrant “A’Pink,” a color that pays homage to Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first Black sorority. Wilson is a member of AKA. So is Plowden.
“Seeing her release her signature shoe was empowering,” Plowden told Sneaker Theory.
“Generally, you don't have a lot of black women in sports releasing a shoe, especially that type of shoe where everybody wants to purchase the shoe and show it off,” Plowden explained. “I’m definitely proud of her for creating this platform, not just for herself, but for younger Black women to come after her.”
Mir McLean, a current basketball player at the University of Maryland and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, said that although she attends an Under Armor-sponsored university, she is still proud of Wilson and her accomplishments with Nike.
“I would have definitely wanted to rep her and wear her shoe while I was playing, because it would also show the multifaceted aspects of what student athletes can be,” McLean told Sneaker Theory. “Just the opportunity to showcase a different part of yourself through basketball, whether that be through your shoes or other accessories, it’s just something great to have.”
The A’ja Two is the second sneaker Wilson has created in collaboration with Nike. Her first shoe – the A’ja One – sold out in five minutes.
Nike touts the A’Ja Two as a “hoop shoe” that enables “springy takeoffs and soft landings, and a high-grip traction pattern helps hoopers cut, pivot and move laterally with precision.”
Wilson’s signature is featured on the heel.
Some social media reports indicate there’s an abiding fervor over Wilson’s signature shoes and for Wilson, who in 2025 became the first player to win a Championship, Finals MVP, league MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and scoring title all in one season.
“They love A’Ja in Paris,” Sole Retriever stated in a post on X.
The shoe is garnering rave reviews.
“This already looks like a huge step forward because Nike took the best parts of the A1 and they just made it better,” an analyst for Moreau Sports Media proclaimed.
“She already looks like a very great creative when it comes to making these types of shoes and giving people what they want,” Moreau Sports Media continued. “So, we're getting ready to see something really dope and really epic with the A2s.”
The shoe is significant for reasons beyond sales. A'ja Wilson is the first Black woman since Sheryl Swoopes to release a signature shoe with Nike—roughly 30 years after the Air Swoopes made their debut in 1995. Swoopes’ Nike signature line continued through multiple models into the early 2000s.
Whenever Wilson creates a shoe, she uses it to show off parts of her personality and things she cares about. The A’One came in a variety of colors, but her pink and green A’One was a “one-of-one” that left many members of AKA hoping that particular version of the shoe would be released more widely.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated boasts of more than 390,000 members in more than a dozen nations around the world.
Carole Miller, a former Univeristy of Virginia basketball player and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, says creating shoes that give a nod to the AKA sorority was a good business move.
“We [Black women] are always going to support our own,” Miller said.
Editor's note: This story was produced through JOUR 459X, a special "sneaker journalism" course offered in Spring 2026 through the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.