Paige Bueckers shares honest feelings on shoe deal with $81,780,000,000 giant

Paige Bueckers is officially a player in the WNBA as the Dallas Wings picked her with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. The UConn Huskies superstar is set to start a new chapter in her basketball journey and face new challenges both on and off the field.

Bueckers first joined the lineup of Nike, worth $81.78 billion per Forbes, in September 2023 with a Name, Image, Likeness deal. In December 2024, she made history as she became the first college athlete with a player-edition shoe.

Now with her joining the WNBA, Paige Bueckers is in line to get a signature shoe. While it doesn't seem to be happening soon, since there are other WNBA players predicted to be getting their shoes first, the guard was asked about it recently.

While talking with reporters after her selection into the WNBA on Monday, Paige Bueckers shared her thoughts on when she'll get that shoe.

"I have no idea," she said. "I haven't even thought about those conversations, nor have we started those, but there's a lot of people in line that deserve it as well, so whatever happens in the future, we'll see."

She thanked Nike for investing in her and women's sports but also for sticking by her side during all these years, even when she was at a low point in her career.

"It's been great working with Nike," she said. "They invest so much in me, in women's basketball and in women's sports. It's been great having that partnership; they've done a lot of stuff for me, creatively as well.

"They've just been very supportive of me. It could have been easy giving up on me going through the injuries and go to someone else that didn't have that history, but they stuck with me and I'm extremely grateful for that."

Paige Bueckers made history with Nike during college

In December, Paige Bueckers made history when she became the first NIL college athlete to design and release a Nike Player Edition basketball sneaker, the Paige Bueckers Nike G.T. Hustle 3.

The shoe, which featured a baby blue and lavender colorway, was inspired by Bueckers' favorite colors. It included important messages, people and places in the guard's life and was released on Dec. 7, 2024, on Nike's SNKRS app.

“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.”

With A'ja Wilson set to debut her shoes this summer and Caitlin Clark in line to get hers next year, it's a mystery when Paige Bueckers will join this impressive group which also includes Sabrina Ionescu.