Paige Bueckers surprises UConn teammates with special gifts from mammoth sportswear brand

UConn star Paige Bueckers made history by becoming the first college athlete to launch their own Nike Player Edition basketball sneaker.

Bueckers, who has an NIL partnership with Nike, had the company create a personalized shoe for her called the 'Nike G.T. Hustle 3 Paige Bueckers.'

The limited-edition sneaker features customizations, such as 'Bueckers' written on the back heel, and is available in baby blue and lavender purple, her favorite color palette.

On Monday, Paige Bueckers surprised her UConn teammates by gifting them a bucket full of Nike gear to celebrate the launch of her special edition sneaker.

"Nike and team have a gift, it's for everybody," Paige said to the group before opening the Huskies' locker room door, where a gift bucket was placed in each player's cubby.

Each player received a pair of Nike G.T. Hustle 3 sneakers, a custom t-shirt, a hoodie, and a small-sized ball featuring Bueckers' logo alongside a headset.

The Huskies players were visibly excited to receive the special Nike goodies and smiled with appreciation, as seen in a video Overtimewbb posted on Instagram.

Paige Bueckers' teammates react to her Nike sneakers on Instagram

UConn senior guard Paige Bueckers shared multiple Instagram photos on Monday, showing off her new purple and blue-colored Nike G.T. Hustle 3 sneakers.

Morgan Cheli, a freshman guard at Connecticut, commented on the post with two star-struck emojis. Bueckers' former UConn teammates, Nika Muhl and Dorka Juhasz, also chimed in.

"Different," Neha Muhl added..

"Need themmm," Juhasz wrote with fire emojis.

Nika and Dorka commented on Paige's IG post

The shoe was originally set to drop in September but was later pushed back to Dec. 7. It will retail for $190 and be available on the SNKRS and at select Nike retailers.

"It’s definitely motivating to wear your own shoe," Paige said. "I grew up wearing Nikes — all the signature shoes — so it’s surreal to have this Player Edition model. I just want to show out in it."

"There are so many details that make this shoe special to me," she added. "This is the perfect colorway for me: I love baby blue and lavender, and the Radial Knit makes me feel fly. My favorite detail is the message from my dad."

Some special features of the shoe include a message on the left heel that reads, "Be You, Be Great," which are the exact words her dad says to her before every game.