Photo: Gilbert Arenas' daughter Hamiley Arenas shares her reaction to Kaleena Smith's historic NIL deal

Hamiley Arenas, daughter of NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, shared her joy over basketball prospect Kaleena Smith’s historic NIL deal with Adidas. Smith is a five-star recruit from Ontario Christian High School in California and signed with Adidas on Thursday.

Hamiley posted an Instagram story on Thursday, putting a snap of Smith with bold text that read:

“Kaleena Smith makes history as Adidas basketball’s first HS women's NIL signing.”

She also tagged the 5-foot-5 point guard and inserted a couple of emojis that captured her joy over the deal.

Hamiley Arenas via Instagram Story

Smith is the No. 1 women’s basketball recruit for the Class of 2027 and now has become the first women's high school basketball player to sign an NIL deal with the apparel giant. Besides, Adidas will also sponsor her high school team, Ontario Christian High School, and her AAU team, which is joining the 3SSB circuit this season.

Following the historic collaboration, Adidas celebrated the deal and welcomed the standout student-athlete to the fold. Alongside a series of Snaps, the Adidas Basketball X handle also wrote:

“Welcome Kaleena Smith to the adidas Basketball family.”

The latest NIL deal has pushed Kaleena Smith to the spotlight. However, the young basketball prodigy is already making waves with her skills. Her exceptional performance secured her a seat on the 2024 USA Women's U17 National Team and also helped her win the 2023-2024 Girls Basketball MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year award.

Candace Parker, the three-time WNBA champion who took over the role of president of women's basketball at Adidas earlier this year, also appeared elated with the deal.

"When I think about the future of women's basketball, it's clear it's in good hands with hoopers like Kaleena," Parker said.

"Not only is she a tenacious competitor on the court, she's also someone who understands what's required of it and is committed to putting in the work. We couldn't be prouder to welcome her to the sisterhood of talented women who make up adidas Women's Basketball."

With her latest deal, Smith now sits among the ranks of Adidas-backed elite women's basketball players like Aliyah Boston, Aaliyah Edwards, Kahleah Copper and more.

Kaleena Smith looking to prove doubters wrong

Kaleena is basking in glory after the historic NIL deal with Adidas. Her journey is a testament to hard work and grit. In the 2023-24 season, Smith posted an extraordinary average of 34.9 points per game across 33 games.

The sophomore at Ontario Christian High School might be considered small as far as basketball parameters are concerned. However, she climbed to the No. 1 spot in the ESPN rankings, the smallest player to do so in 20 years.

“I’m just trying to prove people wrong. A lot of people see my height and say, ‘Oh, she’s too small; she won’t make it to college. She already hit her ceiling,” Smith revealed in an interview with The Next.

Smith is all pumped up to leave a lasting legacy of herself. With Adidas on her side, she seems poised to rise to the heights of greatness in women's basketball.