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Los Angeles Sparks’ star and WNBA veteran Candace Parker released the new Adidas Pro Bounce 18 Player Exclusive shoes last week.
The shoe is off-white in color, with University of Tennessee orange accents, in homage to the late Pat Summitt, who Parker still looks to as a role model. Parker can be seen oftentimes wearing orange shoes during the WNBA season, in remembrance of her former coach. Parker even attributed her 2016 WNBA Championship to her beloved coach. Also crediting Summitt with instilling in her many important life lessons, it is only fitting that Parker’s player-exclusive shoe would incorporate that University of Tennessee’s nostalgic flair.
Left, right, breathe is Parker’s most cherished motto, passed down by Summitt, and tattooed on her wrist. And the Pro Bounce pays tribute to the impact Summitt had on Parker, on and off the court. “I think of her impact, what she believed, what she instilled in me,” Parker said, of Summitt’s wisdom. “You can’t get too high with winning or too low with losing.”
Parker has worn Adidas basketball shoes basically her entire career — during her high school and AAU days, on the court at the University of Tennessee and for the past 10 years in the WNBA. This latest release is the third, player-exclusive shoe that Parker has created with Adidas. There have been other WNBA players who have had a shoe through the years, including Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Cynthia Cooper, Nicki McCray, Rebecca Lobo, Chamique Holdsclaw and Maya Moore.
With the wave of new culture in which musicians, artists, athletes and other creatives are coming together on fashion, player-exclusive shoe collaborations have evolved into intricate, more detailed footwear. But it is also time for another full shoe line for a women’s basketball player to emerge. I thought when Maya Moore came aboard as the first lady of the Jordan brand in 2013 that she would birth a new women’s Jordan shoe line, and I’m still waiting.
With the announcement that Puma will now be the official WNBA shoe partner, perhaps something is brewing. After the fiercely competitive 2018 WNBA season that just ended, fans would be here for it!