UConn star Paige Bueckers debuted her Nike GT Hustle 3 PE at Barclays Center during the inaugural Women's Champions Classic this weekend, but she wasn't the only one. There was a lot of blue and purple on the court in Saturday's game against Louisville because several of her teammates showed support by also repping the shoe.
Bueckers made history this week by becoming the first NIL athlete to launch their own signature shoe. A few days ago, she surprised her teammates with buckets of her Nike swag and the shoes. The bucket is a nod to the UConn guard's nickname, "Paige Buckets."
Her nickname is also featured on the back of the right shoe. The left shoe has a text bubble with a message that Bueckers receives from her dad before every game: "Be You, Be Great." Another unique feature is the area codes for the University of Connecticut and her hometown in Minnesota intersecting on the left tongue.
Hooping in the first PE designed by a college athlete.
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) December 6, 2024
Paige Bueckers is 1 of 1 pic.twitter.com/9Tjacv61yt
HISTORY: Paige Bueckers and @UConnWBB debuted her Nike GT Cut 3 PE tonight 🪣 @paigebueckers1 is the first college athlete to release and play in her own Nike shoe 👏
— Sole Retriever (@SoleRetriever) December 8, 2024
📹 @AliyahFun pic.twitter.com/tqdsqAE4Jd
The shoes officially became available to the public on Saturday morning and half the sizes were sold out less than an hour later. Her hoodie was completely sold out on the Nike website well before the game against Louisville.
"It's definitely motivating to wear your own shoe," Bueckers said in a statement. "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."
She will have plenty of opportunities to wear her shoes in big game situations as the Huskies will play four ranked opponents in December.
