Patrick Johnson 
The New York Times’ Kelly Whiteside released an extended piece today about the total lack of signature shoes in the WNBA. The story focused on Jordan Brand’s Maya Moore who has a few releases under her belt with the Jumpman but still no shoe to call her own. Maya was the first woman to sign an endorsement deal with Jordan Brand back in 2011 and has since received a number of player exclusives. But Whiteside writes, that despite early activations during the starting seasons of the WNBA with signature shoes for Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley and more, there’s been a significant if not total drop-off in production since. She writes:
In 2011, Moore became the first female basketball player to sign an endorsement deal with Nike’s Jordan brand. In 2015, Nike produced its first retail shoe with Moore. The Jordan brand will release a two-shoe special collection on Sept. 30 billed as a tribute to Moore. But it will not be called Air Maya. The Moore-inspired Air Jordan 1 Retro High ($95) and Air Jordan 10 Retro ($140) will be sold in children’s extended sizes from 3.5 to 9.5. The shoes feature pops of fuchsia, one of Moore’s favorite colors, and personal touches such as “3:23” on the pull tab, for her favorite Bible verse, Colossians 3:23.
Maya goes on to say that, “There’s no question, the sneaker culture is a big part of the excitement, respect, and legitimacy in the basketball world. The sneaker culture is very influential for men. That’s why it’s an interesting dynamic, with me being a female, to see how guys in the sneaker culture think about a female signature shoe.”
Do you think Maya deserves her own signature Jordan Brand model at this point? Check out the full collection below and stay tuned for her two-shoe collection to release September 30th.
Maya Moore x Jordan Brand Collection
Release Date: September 30th, 2017
$95 – $140
Air Jordan 1 and Air Jordan 10 Available in 3.5 – 9.5 women’s
Source: The New York Times
